St John PNG team hits the road to build leadership

• Six officers from St John Ambulance Papua New Guinea are undertaking a month-long rotation in Perth as part of an Australian Government funded leadership development program.
• The Program will build international connections and develop the expertise of St John around the world.
• Officers will have the opportunity to observe State Operations Centre processes, on-road activation, and get to work alongside St John WA leaders across departments.

Six officers from St John Papua New Guinea are undertaking a month-long leadership program in Perth to build international connections and develop expertise.

The personnel are visiting St John in pairs, with each duo spending four weeks on rotation working and experiencing life alongside St John WA staff and volunteers.

Program Coordinator Kelly Guest said that the PNG team would be working extensively in St John WA’s State Operations Centre (SOC) in order to gain a deeper understanding of the systems and processes used by SJWA when responding to the numerous Triple Zero (000) calls received daily.

The officers work alongside Metropolitan Operations, Regional Operations, Specialist Services and Clinical Education teams at SJWA. They also schedule visits to primary care sites and have access to additional professional development opportunities through SJWA’s People Learning and Wellbeing and Support teams.

“The program not only supports the professional development of St John PNG’s ambulance management but also provides SJWA with a unique opportunity to learn from the PNG experience, who respond to over 22,000 emergency calls a year covering a population of 3 – 5 million people,” Ms Guest said.

St John WA has been a close collaborator with PNG and shares a locally-developed clinical information portal which provides first responders with up-to-date information when practicing in remote areas.

St John Director of Emergency Ambulance Deon Brink said the international opportunities provided by St John to local personnel provided insights into improvements.

“With international borders open again, I am very pleased to welcome the PNG team to Perth and I look forward to continuing the close collaboration with them,” Mr Brink said.

“Personnel from St John WA who have worked in Papua New Guinea have returned with new skills and insight, and it is a privilege to have the opportunity to return the favour.”

Western Australia and Papua New Guinea are two of four jurisdictions in the Pacific Region where St John is the primary provider of emergency ambulance services, which also includes the Northern Territory and New Zealand.

The exchange is funded by the Australian Government through the PNG-Australia Partnership.

Below: PNG Duty Operations Commander Officers Alex Dimain and Gothman Kimia checking out the sights of Perth.