A team of medics from UK-Med are travelling to Papua New Guinea in the Pacific on behalf of the UK’s Emergency Medical Team (EMT) to support health services under severe pressure, with many of the country’s doctors and nurses exhausted or becoming infected and unable to work.
As the Delta variant has now spread across the country, October has seen the highest numbers of new cases and deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. This includes a high number of national health staff who have become infected with the virus.
The team will be based in the Western Highlands, one of the worst affected areas during this third wave.
They will be providing urgent care to seriously and critically ill patients; ensuring adequate infection prevention and control measures are in put place to protect staff and stop the further spread of the disease; and supporting community engagement strategies to reduce virus stigma and encourage vaccine uptake.
UK-Med Team Lead Pete says: “UK-Med are proud to represent the UK Emergency Medical Team in Papua New Guinea. Our expert team will be providing critical medical care to patients suffering with COVID-19 and support to health staff, at a time when their national health service has been overwhelmed by the rapid spread of a third wave of the virus.’”
UK-Med has responded to more than 20 international requests for support for COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic, as part of the UK Emergency Medical Team and independently as UK-Med.
We’ll post more updates from the team on our social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn) as the response develops.
We’re grateful to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) for UK Aid funding from the British people to fund this important response.
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