By ELIZABETH VUVU
SERVICES at the Nonga Base General Hospital in East New Britain returned to normal last week after it was scaled down due to heavy volcanic ash fall from the nearby Mt Tavurvur.
Chief executive officer Cornelius Kalimet told The National yesterday that after three weeks of operating at the St Mary’s Vunapope, the hospital administration decided to move its nurses, doctors and surgeons back after ash fall from the volcano had settled down to low activity.
“All services in the children and adult outpatient departments, consultation clinics, operating theatre and the labour ward that were temporarily shut down have been restored,” Mr Kalimet said.
He said this was the fourth time since after the 1994 eruptions that the hospital management have had to move to the Vunapope Hospital where full specialist services were taking place.
“The move was in the best interest of our patients as doctors and the hospital management were worried about the effect of the dust,” he added
“The operating theatre cannot operate in a dusty environment where patients could easily be subjected to post operative wounds.”
Meanwhile, a reliable source who do not want to be named, said since the hospital was reconstructed 1994, the practice of moving away from the ash fall had become a “normal practice”.
He said although it had become an expensive exercise and one which caused a lot of inconvenience, the Government continued to disregard the importance of relocating the hospital.

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