South Australia

Papua New Guinea has a population of nearly eight million people with the majority of them living in extremely remote areas. It is a very diverse country, inhabited by around five hundred tribes speaking an astonishing 800 different languages.

Only 19 consultant anaesthetists are practicing in Papua New Guinea, and only a further ten are currently in their anaesthetic training. The workload is as challenging as their patients. Papua New Guinea has a very high number of patients suffering from oral cancers, putting the airway management skills of the anaesthetists to the test.

An anaesthetic team from Adelaide is currently preparing and setting up to attend the Medical Symposium of Papua New Guinea. Nearly all Papua New Guinea’s medical and nursing officers gather at this yearly meeting to learn and discuss issues related to health care in their country. The symposium is split in two parts: the first three days are a general forum, while the second half of the week is devoted to the various medical specialities.

The team from Adelaide will attend this year’s anaesthesia speciality meeting to provide lectures and run specialised airway workshops relevant to complications the Papua New Guinea’s medical professionals face in their provincial hospitals.

These workshops have been initiated by Airway Management SIG member, Dr Chris Acott and have been held at this forum for more than a decade.

Initially, workshops have concentrated mainly on basic airway management training, but have expanded significantly over the last five years.

Airway teachings now range from correct facemask ventilation techniques and the appropriate use of the laryngeal mask to advanced airway management skills including flexible and rigid fibre optic intubation techniques. Ultrasound assessment of the airway in a country with limited resources, but high oral cancer rates, has been shown to be quite useful, and has been trained in this setting in the last years as well.

Furthermore, Papua New Guinea tailored “can’t intubate, can’t oxygenate” algorithms and emergency tracheostomy care manuals have been developed.

Each year the team gets bigger with more Adelaide anaesthetists joining the effort. With that, the variety of the workshops increases and expands as well. In the last years we have also been teaching ultrasound guided regional anaesthesia, BLS, ALS, paediatric anaesthesia and more.

Keen anaesthetists who enjoy a challenge and are keen on teaching are encouraged to join us in our effort to aid Papua New Guinea and other developing countries.

Dr Yasmin Endlich