Lois McCreddan providing COVID-19 response assistance in Papua New Guinea
RBWH’s very own Emergency Response Coordinator Lois McCreddan has recently returned from Papua New Guinea after spending four weeks assisting them with their COVID-19 response.
Lois has spent most of 2020 working as a vital member of the RBWH COVID-19 Incident Management Team, so she was well prepared for her role in Papua New Guinea when she was selected to travel there as part of her Australian Medical Assistance Team (AUSMAT) membership.
Following seven days quarantine upon arrival to Port Moresby, Lois anticipated her role would involve working as a nurse in their local hospitals. However, the expected COVID-19 surge didn’t eventuate so instead the team performed a consultant role helping wards design their flow and processes, running education and myth busting sessions, and demonstrating correct PPE use.
Due to her emergency management experience, Lois was also asked to work in the National Control Centre to assist with the national level response. Here, she wrote factsheets, individual COVID-19 plans for hospitals and audit checklists for facilities and units.
An important part of AUSMAT and humanitarian work is to support the local people to achieve their goals – not just coming in to do what they think is best and then leaving. The team spent a lot of time getting to know how the system works and where they could support.
Lois said her favourite part of her time in Papua New Guinea was helping the local staff on the ground to fine tune their processes and working through issues with them.
“It was extremely rewarding to be able to see the impact of what we were doing with the teams and how this will help current and future patients,” she said.
“We were lucky enough to be working alongside agencies including WHO, Save the Children and UNICEF. It was a great opportunity to see how these international organisations do things.
“The tertiary hospital I was working in had one x-ray machine for a 1,200 bed hospital, so resources were scarce. The experience provided me with a new appreciation for how lucky we are in Australia.
“I also learnt that my ability to walk up hills in Australia is not representative of my ability to walk up hills in PNG!”
Well done Lois for your selfless efforts helping others.