St John Ambulance

An Automated External Defibrillator (AED) crucial for saving lives, along with the personal belongings of dedicated paramedics were stolen.

Momase Regional Commander, Anderson Poumb condemned the act, emphasizing the risk it poses to the community's safety.

These unfortunate events resulted in varying degrees of injuries among those involved.

A fleet of five ambulances accompanied by a paramedic response vehicle hurried to the scenes to provide urgent medical assistance. At ATS and 8-Mile, ambulance crews attended to injured individuals.

St John Ambulance PNG and TacMed Australia proudly announced their partnership yesterday and is a significant collaboration to enhance first aid response in Papua New Guinea.

TacMed Australia is a veteran-owned emergency medical company established in 2010. The company specialize in bringing advances in battlefield medicine equipment and training to first responders.

Slingshots and metal projectiles were hurled at the vehicle late last night, resulting in significant damage.

St John Ambulance Chief Executive Officer, Matt Cannon, personally reviewed the damage and the dash camera footage of the attack.

Describing the footage as “horrible”, he expressed disgust at the cowardly actions towards personnel clearly identified as providing help.

The nature of emergencies varied widely covering incidents such as snakebites, respiratory problems, obstetrics/maternal complications, childbirth, trauma, and more.

Of particular concern was the noteworthy increase in violence and trauma-related emergencies, constituting 24 out of the 52 emergencies in the early hours of the New Year.

A breakdown of these violence and trauma-related emergencies revealed that 16 incidents occurred in the National Capital District, 3 in Central, and 4 in Momase.

At around 7pm on Saturday, 25th November, Lae-based St John Ambulance crew were informed of an emergency at Bumbu.

The usual two-person crew arrived at the scene only to find themselves ambushed by an intoxicated individual wielding a hammer.

The suspect, who had allegedly made the false call, attacked the vehicle, causing extensive damage to its windscreen while the two officers managed to escape.  

The festive period is no different; work continues for law enforcers and health workers, including primary emergency ambulance service providers like St John Ambulance.

Twenty-three cases were attended by the Lae-based team on December 25th, and one of them involved an elderly mother, Lomsi Joe, and her son.

They are from Finschhafen, in Morobe Province, but live with a Kabwum woman, Essie Malabu, at her home at Four-Mile, in Lae, to be closer to the ANGAU Memorial Provincial Hospital.

Twenty-three (23) cases in total were attended to by the first responder, from the morning of December 25^th to Boxing Day.

People’s mindsets have slowly been changing over the years, thanks to the leadership of Lae City Authority and its stakeholders, including the Lae Metropolitan Command.

Drunken brawls, noise pollution and petty crimes – which used to be the scourge of festive periods in Lae – are slowly declining.

The days leading up to Christmas, and the festive period itself, were observed quietly and peacefully by residents.

This accumulates to a staggering 28,000 false calls in a week, obstructing genuine emergency calls from reaching the vital helpline.

The ramifications of these false alarms are not only wasting valuable resources but also putting lives at risk. Ambulance crews are frequently dispatched to fabricated emergencies, only to discover that the callers have misled authorities, diverting crucial attention away from authentic emergencies.

As part of its proactive measures, additional emergency ambulance crews were strategically deployed to meet the anticipated surge in incidents during the extended Christmas weekend.

From Friday evening to Tuesday at 6 am, 17 ambulances were on duty across critical locations, including Lae, Kokopo, Kupiano Bereina, and Port Moresby. Responding collectively to 370 emergency incidents, the St John Ambulance (SJA) Christmas operation, spanning from Sunday evening to Tuesday morning, saw dedicated ambulance crews attending to 162 emergency cases.