Authority denies mass resignation of nursing staff

 EASTERN Highlands Provincial Health Authority chief executive officer Lillian Siwi has denied reports of a mass resignation by more than 400 staff members of the Goroka Hospital.

“We did not receive any resignation papers from any staff at the hospital, no one has resigned,” Siwi told reporters yesterday.

She referred to reports in The National yesterday over a mass walkout by staff on Monday after tendering their resignations last week. 

Siwi claimed that staff members were forced by the hospital management to stop work but the PHA had not received their resignation papers.

She said despite the walkout by staff, 75 per cent of the doctors and specialists and half of the other staff were on normal duties. 

Doctors were urged to scale down operations and attend to critical cases only. “Terminated hospital manager Dr Francis Wandi was given the financial powers to sign up to K20,000 per month to buy necessary items, equipment and upkeep of the hospital. He failed to implement this.

“The arrangement was already in place when I took office,” Siwi said.

She said the money was made available to fix the standby generator to cater for power outages and other needs of the hospital but the management failed to use it and have been barking at the PHA.

She said the hospital was run by union leaders instead of sectional managers. 

It put conflict of interest in the forefront, running the hospital in a chaotic manner.

Siwi stated they were calling for health workers to apply to fill in the vacancy created after the staffs have walked out. Hospital staff walked out of their duties on Monday calling on immediate reinstatement of terminated senior officers and withdrawal of a National Court order restraining them from conducting meetings.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Michael Malabag announced on Monday the authority would be suspended and an immediate inquiry be conducted into its management.