Mendi doctors asked to stay

National

By REBECCA KUKU
Health Secretary Pascoe Kase has called on doctors in Mendi to remain where they are and continue to perform their duties.
Most doctors and their families were evacuated from Mendi last Friday, except for  five who stayed back to provide emergency cover.
Kase said there was an influx of security personnel on the ground in Mendi and doctors must remain.
He said the National Doctors’ Association did not have the power to evacuate doctors from Mendi.
“The doctors can only leave or be evacuated if and when the Mendi General Hospital board of management assesses the situation and finds that the safety of health workers is under threat,” Kase said.
“At the moment, we have high-level security operations in the province and the situation has been quiet, so doctors must remain to serve the people and perform their duties.”
Kase made this statement after the National Doctors’ Association evacuated some doctors and their families from Mendi for safety reasons.