A three day course on disaster risk management is currently underway in Port Moresby.
The course delivered by the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre (NCCTRC) is funded by the Australian Government, facilitated by the St John Ambulance.
It’s aimed at equipping local front line emergency workers with necessary skills to understand how to manage the scene of an emergency where there are a number of patients or a lot of casualties.
This course began on Monday, and has seen a number of doctors from two major hospitals in Port Moresby, and representatives from the National Department of Health, PNG Defence force and St John Ambulance.
Doctor Garry Nou, the deputy commander for APEC health response and president of the PNG society for emergency medicine said this course was fantastic for locals.
He said PNG responds to emergencies and is capable in managing disasters locally, but it still lacks a structure.
And by structure, he refers to the command and control – the different groups of people operating right down the chain - from the safe go-zone through to the disaster zone.
“All chain of command follows a specific structure so that the response is coordinated and you get the most out of the allocated resources,” he said.
He added that this course now provides that structure and key necessities to provide the standard international recognised mechanism.
“That would be good because, locally we can interlock with international agencies that provide disaster response and our response will all be standard.
“It will lead to better cohesion, cooperation, and mechanisms will be easier to put in place and activate,” Dr Nou said.
The training also falls timely with APEC in place.