Unlike a normal emergency call made through 111, the National St John Ambulance Service (NSTJA) responded to a wave for help while attending another incident.

Early this morning, ambulance officers were responding to a minor altercation involving intoxicated youths in the Downtown area.

At around 2:35am, while returning from the scene, officers were flagged down by a man standing in the middle of the road near the Downtown Waterfront, close to the HMPNGS BASILISK PNG Defence Force Landing Craft Base.

The man was identified as Simon Tavio, who told officers that his mother was seriously ill and urgently needed medical attention. Ambulance officers found a woman lying on the grass nearby.

The patient was immediately assisted and transported to the Seven Mile Clinic. However, the clinic was closed, so she was rushed to the Port Moresby General Hospital Emergency Department via Three- Mile.

Mr. Tavio later identified the patient as his mother, Nancy Nareke, aged 45, a nurse from Kainantu General Hospital in Eastern Highlands Province.

According to her son, Ms. Nareke had been experiencing pain and bleeding for about six months, which she managed while undergoing treatment in Kainantu. She later travelled to Port Moresby in early December 2025 for church activities.

Her condition worsened approximately 12 hours earlier while attending a Seventh Day Adventist camp in Bautama, Central Province, prompting the family to seek urgent medical help by taxi.

National St John Ambulance officer Daniel Afuti confirmed that hospital staff have since diagnosed Ms. Nareke with cervical cancer and a cervical ulcer, and that she had been receiving ongoing treatment in Kainantu.