The International Committee of the Red Cross or ICRC recently conducted the Emergency Room Trauma Course for health professionals to learn how to manage emergency cases, and save lives.
Health professionals who attended the Emergency Room Trauma Course in Mt Hagen say trauma is common in PNG, especially in the upper highlands provinces of Hela, Southern Highlands, Enga and Western Highlands.
This is mostly due to tribal fights and killings, and trauma that not only comes from injuries, but women and children witnessing killings in their area.
Places like Hela and Enga are worse off, as their emergency departments see trauma patients every day.
Dr Ben Isidor from Hela Provincial Health Authority says “We see trauma cases every day.”
Doctors revealed that trauma is the leading cause of death on the most productive age group of 15 to 44 years of age.
An estimated five out of ten patients that visit the emergency department every day are trauma cases from injuries and life threatening conditions.
ICRC has facilitated the course, so that health professionals working at the emergency department must know how to manage and respond to such patients.
ICRC trainer, Jean Phillipe says, “ICRC is giving specific trainings on trauma cases on veins, head injuries, limbs, bullet wounds, and how they can manage to respond to different cases of trauma.”
The training ensures that health professionals working at the emergency departments are equipped with the knowledge on how best they can manage a trauma patient during an emergency.
By Vasinatta Yama, EM TV – Mt Hagen
