Hospital in dire need of staff

LORENGAU hospital in Manus province is in dire need of more staff and general upgrading of its facilities.
The hospital’s chief executive officer Boe Avue said the hospital, which caters for almost 46,000 people in the province, had seen a major setback in its service for over 20 years.
Mr Avue said the hospital was also facing problems with costs for transportation and maintenance, adding the situation has placed health authorities in the province in a very critical situation.
He said the lack of response from responsible authorities was hampering an efficient service by the hospital.
Mr Avue also said that for the past 20 years, the hospital had 60 nursing staff and given the population increase over those years, the nurses were working flat out.
He said staffing and manpower were vital in rendering an efficient and effective service and that one could not talk about a holistic patient care if shortage of staff, doctors and specialists was an enduring battle.
Mr Avue also stressed that in Manus alone, a province which depended mostly on sea transport due to its vast remote islands, the cost for boat fuels was the main area that really needed more funding for the health services to effectively carry out its operations.