Dr. Fono Mau

Dr. Fono Mau is the emergency medicine lead at Tupua Tamasese Meaole (TTM) Hospital in Apia, managing Samoa's main accident and emergency department. With 8 years of emergency medicine experience, Dr. Mau is Samoa's principal emergency physician, handling trauma, acute medical emergencies, obstetric complications, and cyclone and tsunami disaster health response.

Samoa's emergency medicine environment is shaped by high rates of road traffic injuries, drowning incidents, and the ever-present risk of natural disasters — Samoa is a cyclone-prone island nation. The rising NCD burden also means an increasing number of acute presentations of cardiac events, stroke, and diabetic emergencies. Dr. Mau is experienced in managing these diverse emergency presentations with the resources available at TTM Hospital.

Dr. Mau is bilingual in English and Samoan, which is essential for effective emergency communication with patients and families in high-stress situations. He plays an active role in TTM Hospital's disaster preparedness planning and in training nursing staff in basic emergency care.

Dr. Mau completed his MBBS at the Fiji School of Medicine and returned to Samoa to work in the TTM Hospital Emergency Department. He completed a Certificate in Emergency Medicine through the Pacific Emergency Medicine training programme supported by the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM).

He is an ATLS (Advanced Trauma Life Support) provider through the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons' Pacific ATLS programme and holds ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support) certification. He has completed disaster medicine training through the Pacific Humanitarian Team health cluster and participated in emergency medicine placements at Middlemore Hospital in Auckland, New Zealand.

Dr. Mau's emergency medicine expertise spans trauma resuscitation, acute medical emergencies, and obstetric emergency management. In trauma — Samoa's leading emergency presentation — he performs primary and secondary surveys, airway management, haemorrhage control, and fracture stabilisation. He manages road traffic injuries, assaults, and falls.

For acute medical presentations, Dr. Mau manages STEMI and acute coronary syndromes (with thrombolysis), acute stroke, hypertensive emergencies, severe asthma, anaphylaxis, and diabetic ketoacidosis — conditions increasingly common as Samoa's NCD burden grows. He manages obstetric emergencies including postpartum haemorrhage and eclampsia, and drowning — a significant cause of emergency presentations in this island nation.

Dr. Mau is dedicated to serving Samoa's communities and building emergency care capacity in a Pacific island setting. He has contributed to emergency department audit data presented at the Samoa Medical Association Annual Meeting and has participated in Pacific Emergency Medicine Network discussions on trauma system development for Pacific island nations.

He contributes to TTM Hospital's disaster preparedness planning and has participated in tabletop exercises with the Samoa National Disaster Management Office (NDMO). His priority is strengthening the skills of nursing and allied health staff in emergency recognition and initial management across Samoa's health facilities.

TTM Hospital's emergency department provides emergency care to all patients presenting acutely, including international visitors. Medical tourists and visitors to Samoa who experience a medical emergency should attend the TTM Hospital emergency department in Apia.

Patients requiring specialist care beyond TTM Hospital's capacity — including specialist surgical intervention, neurosurgery, and cardiac catheterisation — are transferred to New Zealand or Fiji through established emergency referral pathways. Dr. Mau's team coordinates emergency medical evacuations when required. All visitors to Samoa are strongly advised to carry comprehensive medical evacuation insurance.

Dr. Mau has been recognised by the Samoa Ministry of Health for his leadership of TTM Hospital's emergency department and his contributions to disaster health response following Cyclone Gita and the COVID-19 emergency. He received a commendation from the ACEM Pacific Emergency Medicine Initiative for participation in emergency medicine capacity building in Samoa.