By JEFFREY ELAPA
Doctors at the Mendi General Hospital have stopped work for a week in protest against continues break-ins and stealing from doctor’s residence.
The doctors’ action came about after some unknown youths from the surrounding villages entered one of the doctor’s residence and went away with a washing machine.
However, the washing machine was later recovered .
Early last month the nurses and management of the hospital staged a peaceful protest demanding the surrounding communities to stop insulting and intimidating staff and stealing of properties.
During the protest march, the nurses gave a 3 day notice to address some of their concerns like signing a MoA among the hospital, the provincial government and the surrounding communities to take ownership of the hospital.
They also petitioned the police manpower in Mendi to be fully funded and equipped to make their work effective and to apprehend suspects.
Chief executive officer Joe Turian told The National that the thirty-day period had already lapsed without a single attempt been made by the provincial government although The National believes that the task was left to the provincial administration to facilitate.
Mr Turian said although the doctors had a sit-in protest, they were still attending to emergency cases while minor out patients cases were turned away. He said the hospital was still running as normal without any hindrance although the doctors declined to attend to minor causalities.
He called on the provincial administration to speed up the signing of the MoA to stop further trouble at the hospital.
Some patients, who went to the hospital and were turned away, condemned the actions of the youths from the surrounding communities of Tente, SK and others for continuously victimising the staff and vandalising hospital property.
Raymond Yandi, a village court officer from Ialibu, who went for a review at the hospital, after he was paralysed in a car accident some years ago said that he had to travel a long distance to see doctors but was turned away as there were no doctors at the hospital outpatients.
He said the people of Mendi must start to respect a national institution like the hospital because their actions would only deprive the right of the majority of SHP people.
He said it was a referral hospital that served the 600,000 people of the province and a little group of people should start to changing their attitudes and take ownership of the facility.