The Port Moresby General Hospital has reported an increased amount of severely injured patients that range from assault, inter-personal violence and road accidents that occurred over the Independence weekend. PMGH Emergency Physician, Dr. Mangu Kendino confirmed that most of these cases were trauma related incidents with fractures and lacerations which were a result of road traffic accidents that occurred in several parts of the city over the independence weekend. “Unfortunately, multiple motor vehicle accidents happened, and so from the motor vehicle accidents, we saw the fatally injured patients.” Dr. Kendino also mentioned that the less serious cases were infections and complications from diabetes and gastro-intestinal infections like food poisoning and diarrhea. Also, respiratory illnesses like asthma and chronic-obstructive airway disease. Cases with people suffering from allergic reactions from multiple things like pollen, dust and exposure to the environment were also reported. As it is the dry season, with very little rain. According to Dr Kendino, this may lead to heat-related illnesses like dehydration and heat exhaustion. She has gone on to further advise that people should keep clean and stay hydrated. “Drink a lot of water don’t be dehydrated that’s going to compound many other issues especially people with a background illness.” “The dry spell might also give rise to things like water-borne diseases that might be transferred through food handling and preparation, so your hands need to be washed regularly so you don’t catch a gastrointestinal infection like diarrhea, cholera or Typhoid.” She states that the emergency department is not facing any pressing issues at this moment in terms of water, power and infrastructure and has said they were fortunate enough to not experience any black outs during the Independence weekend. This has allowed them to provide level best healthcare to all their patients with an adequate number of hardworking doctors and nurses attending to patients. The hospital equipment is in good condition and there is an adequate supply of drugs and consumables to manage the patients presenting to the ED. “We have an adequate number of staff in the emergency department which not only includes our doctors and nurses but also support staff that are extremely important in the function of the department like our hygiene staff and the security personnel that take care of the facility and help us to manage the patients and manage crowd control.” Meanwhile, Dr. Kendino has sent a general notice out to the public that there are health facilities and clinics located throughout the country that people should seek early treatment from. People are advised to go to urban clinics and health centres to seek help when they initially fall ill. Most of the patient cases that do not meet emergency requirements are referred to primary healthcare clinics and secondary facilities to be assessed and managed. “Hospital Emergency departments are specifically for the provision of emergency cases [that are serious and need specialized care and observation].”