Hospital chief explains GH’s current problems
By CHRISTINE PAKAKOTA
THE current problems faced by the Port Moresby General Hospital (PMGH) are directly related to the issues of supply and demand, according to hospital chief Dr Alphonse Tay.
Dr Tay was responding to comments made by the Health Secretary Dr Clement Malau in the media, blaming the management and board on the sorry state of PMGH.
He said it was unfair to say that PMGH management was to be blamed for its current state.
“It is a slap in the face and it is something we do not expect from our big boss, especially when it is conveyed through the media,” he said.
Dr Tay said in his letter that they simply did not have adequate resources to meet the demand of services required by the public.
“We need more staff, we need more space and we need more equipment, drugs and consumables to make PMGH serve the purpose it was meant to do,” he said.
Dr Tay said there was also a lack of appropriately trained people to manage these resources from the aid post level to the top management level at the National Department of Health (NDOH).
He said at PMGH, the management and the board has always given their best with the limited resources they have at their disposal from the recurrent budget and from the internal revenue collections to maintain services at PMGH.
Last year, PMGH made a request for K42 million for the current year, but it was given only K29 million of which 75% went to paying salaries, leaving only 25% for operations.
Dr Tay said most times, the hospital operated on a credit basis and once funds were released, they were used up very quickly and the hospital has to start the cycle over again, operating on the same credit basis.
He added that PMGH was given only K3.5 million in the 2006 supplementary budget and not K28 million as reported.
He said the money from this allocation was intended for certain projects – K850,000 was for air-conditioning of various divisions like operating theatre, the intensive care unit, labour ward and others.
Dr Tay said K500,000 was for equipment purchased while another K500,000 was budgeted for maintenance of the maternity wing which was still pending.
He said K1.7 million was earmarked for refurbishment of the emergency department to be started soon.
The money is kept in a trust account with the health services improvement programme and NDOH, Dr Tay added.
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