A joint AUSMAT and MHMS mission to assess the capacity of Provincial Health Centers is underway as part of the overall response plan to the current covid-19 outbreak.
The mission is to undertake rapid assessments on overall capacity and capabilities at major provincial health facilities including checks on medical equipment, human resources, current procedures and processes.
This week the team visited Helena Goldie Hospital in Munda and Gizo hospital in the Western. Similar assessments were also conducted in Malaita and Guadalcanal Provinces earlier this week.
Health and Medical Services Minister Dr. Culwick Togamana said on Wednesday that reports from these assessments will assist the ministry of health to make necessary adjustments, changes and improvements to better respond to the current COVID situation.
AUSMAT stands for the Australian Medical Assistance Teams which usually deploys doctors, nurses, paramedics and logisticians drawn from state and territory health services to deploy at short notice to provide people with life-saving medical care following disaster situations.
In 2019, Australia deployed AUSMAT to Solomon Islands during the MV Solomon Trader oil spill, the flooding in 2014 and the dengue fever outbreak 2013.
AUSMAT is one of the few World Health Organisation (WHO) globally-verified Emergency Medical Teams. AUSMAT members are leading contributors to WHO activities to establish global standards on medical assistance during disasters.
