Hospital staff back at work after safety concerns

National

By PETER WARI
OPERATIONS at the Mendi Hospital in Southern Highlands have resumed.
Southern Highlands health authority chief executive Dr Joseph Birisi said staff members were recalled on Oct 16.
“It only scaled down its operations and today the eight specialist doctors and workers are at work and it is in full operation,” he said.
Birisi said the doctors left the province for safety as attacks and fights continued in the aftermath of the elections.
“Any reports or rumours that doctors have not returned and staff had not resumed normal duties at the hospital and other health facilities in the province are false. People must not be misled,” Birisi said.
“It seems like false information and rumours have taken over the truth and what’s actually happening on the ground is submerged.”
Birisi said that also included the Mendi School of Nursing which was operating as usual.
Meanwhile, the province is expecting acting provincial administrator Thomas Eluh to provide strong leadership to restructure the public service system to restore public confidence in the provincial administration in the next three months.
Other government services such as stores, bank and post office are operating as usual and only the provincial administrative building, the Agiru Centre, has been locked down due to some unknown reasons.