SJA gives Bat phone to Nonga Hospital

St John Ambulance team has recently distributed a new Bat telephone to the Rabaul Provincial Hospital (Nonga) in a move to enhance emergency response services in East New Britain.
A Bat phone is a phone without a dial; it has a peculiar ring or siren and is a direct line from an ambulance to the hospital.
This initiative aims to create effective communication between nurses and ambulance officers during transportation of critical patients to hospital.
Laiboi Laiboi, the New Guinea Islands commander of St John Ambulance, highlighted the significance of this effort, emphasising that the provision of the telephone is part of a broader strategy to ensure efficient coordination between healthcare professionals and emergency responders.
“The ultimate goal is to improve the timely and effective delivery of medical care to those in need,” he said.
Laiboi said that the plan is to have one Bat phone in Nonga and another for St Mary’s Hospital in Vunapope.
Upon receiving the phone, Edwin Kauba, nursing officer and specialist emergency nurse at Rabaul Provincial Hospital, expressed his satisfaction with the initiative.
Kauba acknowledged the challenges healthcare workers often faced when responding to unexpected emergencies. He noted that the lack of proper communication equipment often led to inefficiencies in patient care.
“I am happy about the initiative taken because most of the time, we are always taken by surprise and not prepared with the correct equipment to attend to emergency patients who are being brought in,” Kauba said.
He believed that the introduction of the new phone system would improve communication channels and enable nurses to better prepare for incoming patients.