| Sports |
A hospital in dire
straits
By ANDREW ALPHONSE
THE rundown Tari district hospital in
the Southern Highlands province is fighting it's last breath to
survive. This is the hospital that an estimated 350 000 Hela
people rely for basic health care.
"People are suffering and dying nearly every day while the
authorities keep mum about the situation.
"There are no doctors, medicines, medical equipment and ambulance
while poor mothers give births by candle lights in the dark." Tari
town mayor George Tagobe said.
The hospital is situated in the heart of some of the country's
lucrative hydro carbon projects like Hides, Moran, South East
Manada, Angore and Juha oil fields. Electricity from the nearby
Hides gas field powers the giant Porgera mine next door. Bulk of
the raw materials in the now abandoned PNG Gas project would have
been extracted from these oil fields. Mr Tagobe said in spite of
this back drop that underpins the economy of the country, the Hela
people, who are the customary custodians of these hydro-carbon
projects are affected by the lack of a proper health service.
Acting medical superintendent Michael Ekalia said the hospital
faces constant drugs shortages while there are no basic medical
equipments to assist the sick. He said there is no power supply
while several hospital buildings and wards have fallen into a
state of total disrepair.
A visit made by this writer on 10 Jan 2007 saw the hospital
facilities and sections in complete shambles and awful state. The
wards are dirty, smelly, unhygienic and pose health hazard. The
mothers' delivery room leaks when it rains.
Patients lie on empty beds waiting for help that seemed far away
to come.
Mr Ekalia said the equipments to assist in child delivery have
also broken down apart from other defunct and unavailable medical
equipments.
The outpatient ward at most times are unmanned, dirty and in total
disorder. Patients flock in from many miles in the Hela region
flock. At the outpatient ward they are turned away when they could
not get help and stand helplessly at the car park.
The hospital administration is dysfunctional and powerless when it
comes to staff discipline. A skeletal staff of about 15 nurses
come to duties during hectic hours of the day to 'at least' try
and assist the patients. Mr Ekalia said bulk of the staff stay
away at home doing private chores or roam the streets of Mendi, Mt
Hagen and Port Moresby while on full pay. He said some are
frustrated with the non payment of their 2002 nurse's award as
promised by the Health department and national government.
Hospital's clinical health extension officer Clement Kaiman said
Tari is a referral hospital serving the people of Margarima, Tari,
Pori, Komo, Koroba and Lake Kopiago districts but is only by name
hospital.
"Everything is in chaos.
"It would need about K5 million to fully make the hospital
operational again," Mr Kaiman said.
Mr Kaiman said in the last 15 years, the status and operations of
the hospital has gone from bad to worse. He said despite numerous
visits by the so-called authorities, there has been virtually
nothing positive done to improve and upgrade the services at the
hospital. For qualified clinical HEO like Kaiman, he is just on
the ground to 'refer' patients to find their own ways to seek
proper medical assistance at Paiam in Porgera, Mendi, Mt Hagen,
Kudjip, Goroka, Kundiawa, Angau and Port Moresby General hospitals
as there is virtually 'nothing' to assist the sick and the dying.
He said there have not been any doctors, proper equipments, drugs,
ambulance and vehicles, electricity and water supply, operational
funds for stationeries and detergents for about 15 years now.
"Night- shift duties have been shelved due to security problems
with the locals while there is also no vehicle too.
"The MCH clinic is immobile and stationed due to the transport
problems while nurses could not go out for the immunization
visits," Mr Kaiman said.
He said ancillary staff like drivers, cleaners, cooks and security
guards have been laid off due to lack of funds to pay them.
Mr Kaiman said drunkards have also smashed door, walls and glasses
inside the intensive care ward when they ran rampage on several
occasions in the nights, sending the few in-patients running for
their lives in the middle of the night.
Mr Ekalia said that apart from worrisome state of the hospital,
staff who neglect duties while on full pay cannot be reprimanded
due to the maladministration at the provincial health office and
the provincial administration.
"There is no effective control mechanism at the provincial
administration.
"It is a who cares situation where only few committed staff for
the love and care of our people stay back to attend to patients
and provide whatever help we could," Mr Ekalia said.
On the night of Sat 13 Jan, 2007, this reporter witnessed the
slowly passing away of a three year old Grace Anderson. The child
passed away after suffering from pneumonia. Mr Kaiman said in the
last few months, an estimated two infants have passed away from
curable diseases.
Last weekend, Inter Government Relations Minister Sam Abal told
public servants in Tari that in the September 2006 supplementary
budget, the National Government allocated K4 million to
rehabilitate the hospital. However, he said the implementation
process has been slow to date.
Under the state of emergency, acting provincial administrator
William Powi has taken heed of the plight of the hospital. A local
lad Dr Michael Mai is currently in Tari while Mr Powi promised the
hospital a new vehicle, a sign that there is at lest some light at
the end of the tunnel.
 
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