WOMEN OF THE ISLANDS - DR LOANA TANIELU
DR LOANA TANIELU
EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN & CONSULTANT MIDDLEMORE HOSPITAL
SAMOAN
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Born, raised and educated in Samoa, Dr Loana Tanielu who currently works as an Emergency Physician & consultant in Middlemore Hospital, South Auckland has been a godsend to Samoa in their greatest hour of need. She has returned to Samoa as Clinical Lead of the NZ Medical Assistance Team and one of 42 New Zealand volunteers in Samoa working closely with Samoa medical staff to offer assistance since the measles outbreak with some on their second deployment. Dr Tanielu has remained behind after three rotations since she went over in November.
A graduate of Samoa College and the National University of Samoa, Dr Tanielu also worked as a Science and Biology Teacher at Samoa College. She then graduated from both the University of Auckland Medical School and the University of Tasmania with a Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science.
She is especially passionate about improving Pacific health discrepancies both in NZ and Samoa. In 2017 she led an emergency team who travelled to Samoa providing much needed training and teaching for the National Health Service Emergency Department team and final year medical students from the faculty of Medicine, National University of Samoa.
Dr Tanielu has a wealth of experience in the public health sector, having worked in both New Zealand as a doctor and Samoa as a Medical Laboratory Technician at the National Hospital in Moto’otua. As an emergency physician at Middlemore hospital, the measles outbreak became personal for her.
“I will always make myself available for Samoa,” she said.
She had been ready for deployment since October and as soon as the green light was given she went straight over and has complimented the initial response by her Samoan colleagues who braved the first wave of patients flooding the hospitals.
Dr Tanielu believes they played a huge role in minimising the number of mortalities.
“Overwhelmed by the rapid spread of measles, the nurses and doctors responded beyond the call of duty,” she said. “Some of the nurses have not seen their families for weeks. They are the heroines in my book. I am amazed by the response of our people, (health care providers) for our people.”
After weeks on the ground she has been saddened to witness so many innocent lives taken and the number of young children with serious medical complictaions as a result of the measles and it has fuelled her resolve to do all that she can to help.
She recently met New Zealand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Rt. Hon Vaovasamanaia Winston Peters and Minister for Pacific Peoples Hon Aupito William Sio at Leulumoega District Hospital where she has been based working alongside Dr Vaimala Salele and the Ministry of Health Samoa.
Both ministers affirmed that New Zealanders are doing incredible work to help, especially with the door to door campaign in the mass vaccination programme but were also saddened by hospital wards stretched to capacity with measles patients.
Hon Aupito William Sio wrote "Although pleased with the effort, confidence and commitment of all the staff on the ground, we were equally sad to see the ICU units at full capacity"
Dr Loana Tanielu will be joined by a team of SouthSeas Healthcare Samoan-speaking medical professionals to provide more support for the measles response and across the health sector this week leading into the festive season and then plans to stay behind for 2 days after the NZMAT's final rotation this Friday with their counterparts from Japan taking charge of the Leulumoega District hospical.