Samoa 10-21 August 2026 – Vaughan Poutawera

The trip to visit the team at TTM Hospital in Apia started inauspiciously with fog delaying flights into Auckland and a missed connection to Apia. The next flight was two days later and so our clinical time was slightly truncated. The visit consisted of ward rounds, outpatient clinics and operating lists with the local surgeons, Dr Shaun Mauiliu, Dr Areta Samuelu, and the registrars Rob Fa’ataga, Michael XXX and Ariel XXX. Unfortunately the state of TTM Hospital has slowly deteriorated over time and currently there are several major deficiencies. The liquid oxygen plant is broken and so too is the theatre sterilization machine. This necessitates bottled oxygen and sterile packs being shipped in from Pago Pago. There is a major shortage of pharmaceuticals and many common antibiotics are out of stock and the air conditioning in the operating theatres is only working intermittently. Naturally these major issues raise multiple safety concerns across the whole hospital and not just the operating theatres. Nevertheless the staff continue to apply themselves diligently and do the best they can. The visit still proved to be a wonderful experience for Tauranga registrars Dr Ezra Nordstrom and Dr Jono Nosa.