A New Zealand doctor in Bougainville to support the Covid-19 response is looking to help local clinicians feel more confident about staying safe on the job.
The autonomous Papua New Guinea region is wrestling with a surge in Covid cases.
Buka Hospital, Bougainville Photo: RNZ / Johnny Blades
A small New Zealand emergency medical and logistics team has flown in to spend most of the next month in Bougainville.
One of the team's two doctors, Dr Emma Lawrey, expects to be working in Buka Hospital, in Bougainville's administrative capital, supporting staff who have been fearful of dealing with Covid.
"A lot of it will be looking at infection prevention and control, helping staff to keep themselves safe while continuing to work and feel confident that they're safe while working in the environment where covid is present, things like that.
"My role as a clinician is really that peer-to-peer relationship," said Dr Lawrey, adding that such international support had been important in the global response to Covid.
"We can definitely help them to feel more confident using those mitigation measures every day in the workplace," she said.
The New Zealand team, which also includes defence force personnel, is lending logistic support for moving supplies out to the provinces.
In some other parts of PNG which are also experiencing surges in Covid cases, other small medical teams from Australia, Britain and Germany are assisting PNG with the health crisis.