Dr. Andrew Gizo

Dr. Andrew Gizo is the emergency medicine lead at the National Referral Hospital (NRH) in Honiara, managing the hospital's accident and emergency department that serves as the frontline acute care facility for the Solomon Islands. With 9 years of emergency medicine experience, Dr. Gizo is the principal emergency physician for the nation, handling trauma, acute medical emergencies, obstetric complications, and disaster response.

The Solomon Islands' emergency medicine context is shaped by its geography — a nation of nearly 1,000 islands where inter-island transport is challenging — and its disease burden, including high rates of malaria, tropical infections, and trauma. Dr. Gizo is experienced in managing emergencies with limited resources and in coordinating with the national medical referral programme when patients require evacuation to Fiji or Australia.

Dr. Gizo is an ATLS (Advanced Trauma Life Support) provider and has trained numerous nurses and medical officers in basic emergency care protocols. He plays a critical role in the NRH disaster preparedness committee, given the Solomon Islands' vulnerability to cyclones, earthquakes, and tsunamis.

Dr. Gizo completed his MBBS at the Fiji School of Medicine and returned to the Solomon Islands to work in the NRH emergency department. He has completed a Certificate in Emergency Medicine through the Pacific Emergency Medicine programme supported by the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM).

He is an ATLS (Advanced Trauma Life Support) provider, having completed training through the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons' Pacific ATLS programme, and holds Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) and Paediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) certifications. He has undertaken short-term placements in emergency departments in Cairns, Australia, to gain exposure to high-volume emergency medicine.

Dr. Gizo's clinical expertise encompasses the full spectrum of emergency presentations: trauma resuscitation and wound management, acute medical emergencies including severe asthma, acute coronary presentations, stroke, and seizures, obstetric emergencies including eclampsia and postpartum haemorrhage, and poisoning including marine envenomation — a particular hazard in Pacific island settings.

He is skilled in emergency airway management, chest drain insertion, procedural sedation, and the management of shock from multiple causes. Drowning is an unfortunately common presentation in the Solomon Islands, and Dr. Gizo has developed particular competence in post-drowning resuscitation and management.

Dr. Gizo is dedicated to serving Solomon Islands communities and building emergency care capacity throughout the country's island system. He has contributed to emergency medicine needs assessments published through the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine's Pacific Emergency Medicine Initiative, and has presented emergency department audit data at the Pacific Regional Emergency Medicine Symposium.

He contributes to the development of emergency care training materials for health workers in the Solomon Islands' provincial hospitals and area health centres, where first-contact emergency care is provided by nurses and health extension officers with limited physician support.

The NRH Emergency Department provides emergency care to all patients presenting acutely, regardless of origin. International visitors to the Solomon Islands who experience a medical emergency should proceed to the NRH Emergency Department in Honiara. Dr. Gizo's team can provide initial stabilisation and, for conditions requiring specialist care beyond NRH's capacity, coordinate emergency evacuation to Fiji or Australia.

Patients visiting the Solomon Islands are strongly advised to carry comprehensive travel and medical evacuation insurance, given the limited specialist facilities available and the potential cost and logistical complexity of medical evacuation.

Dr. Gizo has been recognised by the Solomon Islands Ministry of Health for his leadership of emergency services at NRH and his contributions to emergency care training in the provinces. He received a commendation from the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine for his participation in the Pacific Emergency Medicine capacity-building programme.