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A doctor who tried to help a New Zealand honeymooner fatally hit by a boat says there was not enough medical equipment on the Fijian island.
Dr Chris Boskovski was holidaying at Matamanoa Island Resort when people started running around asking for help after Rebecca Stockwell of Blenheim was hit in the head while snorkelling on Friday last week.
The Australian doctor arrived on the beach to find the newlywed 26-year-old on the ground with major head injuries. Her husband of six days, Hayden Stockwell, was with her.
While the extent of Mrs Stockwell's injuries made survival unlikely, Dr Boskovski was concerned at the lack of medical supplies and procedures on the island in case of an emergency.
"Staff had no preparation for something like this, there was no procedure in place at all - people were just running around like chooks with their heads cut off," he told the Weekend Herald.
"Basically I just went into medical mode and did whatever I could but when I asked for the emergency kit there were no drugs I could administer. There wasn't even a basic airways kit. There was nothing. I couldn't even give her oxygen. She was just bleeding to death ... There was absolutely no medical equipment whatsoever."
Dr Boskovski used his fingers to try to keep Mrs Stockwell's airways open and towels to try and stem the bleeding from her head. He then had to wait 45 minutes for a helicopter to take her to the mainland hospital where she pronounced dead on arrival.
Dr Boskovski said he had spoken out in the hope that the resort would train its staff in first aid and provide decent medical equipment.
Matamanoa Island Resort sales/marketing director Jill Palise said not all of Dr Boskovski's comments were "factual" but she would not elaborate.
She would not be drawn on what medical supplies were available. * A powerful hurricane heading towards Fiji last night was not expected to hit Vanua Levu despite residents there securing their homes.
The Fiji Meteorological Service told the Weekend Herald Cyclone Daman had weakened to 185km/h and was heading east of the northern tip of Vanua Levu towards Tonga, but could hit the small island of Cikobia.
