A group of St John Ambulance officers and Provincial Health Authority doctors and nurses received certification after successfully completing training in advanced life support and trauma care.
The Advanced Life Support and Advanced Prehospital Trauma Care courses received earlier this month are internationally accredited.
The courses were facilitated by Parasol EMT in collaboration with St John Ambulance and the PNG Society of Emergency Medicine.
The courses included Advanced Life Support Level 1 (ALS1), Advanced Life Support Level 2 (ALS2) and Prehospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS). The fifth day included an instructor course to prepare St John Ambulance doctors and nurses to facilitate future courses in Papua New Guinea.
Prehospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS) is the international standard of emergency medical care for patients suffering severe trauma. This internationally accredited course is taught in 64 countries around the world but this is the first time PHTLS has been taught in PNG, making PNG the 65th country to have introduced the PHTLS standard of care.
Advanced Life Support is facilitated and taught using the Australian Resuscitation Council ALS program. It is a recognised course in Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and Europe.
Twenty one (21) St John Ambulance registered nurses and four ambulance officers participated in the advanced life support course.
Four paramedics, 12 doctors, nine nurses, and two ambulance officer trainers participated in the two advanced courses, ALS2 and PHTLS.
St John Ambulance invited along doctors from the National Department of Health, East New Britain PHA, West New Britain PHA, and a senior emergency nurse from the NCDPHA who also participated in the ALS2 and PHTLS courses. The ALS1 course is a one-day course aimed at providing health professionals with the skills and knowledge to manage the casualty in an immediate period of crisis until further medical assistance arrives.
ALS2 and PHTLS courses are designed for registered health professionals working in the prehospital and emergency department settings. The advanced resuscitation and emergency surgical procedures taught in ALS2 and PHTLS include managing airway, respiratory, cardiovascular, and neurological emergencies.
The President and senior representatives from the PNG Society of Emergency Medicine who participated in the course are seeking to recognise and accredit PNG’s own version of ALS 1 and 2.