Balancing training and specialist treatment

PORT Moresby General Hospital (PMGH) is a hospital in transition balancing the basic level of healthcare services with being a training and specialist hospital, an official says.
PMGH board chairman Peter Graham said both areas needed attention.
“We can’t drop one and just swing exclusively to the other, the population requires us to be there to provide the basic level of health care,” he said.
“So it’s a difficult time but, again, our corporate plan understands and reflects those challenges.”
Graham commended chief executive officer Dr Paki Molumi and his management team for the work they were delivering.
He said it was not the board’s job to interfere with management but to ensure there was adequate resourcing to deliver on hospital’s plans.
“For this board going forward, we take very seriously our responsibilities to work on the development and training of hospital staff because it’s through the staff of the hospital that we achieve the results,” he said.
Graham acknowledged the work of the team that put the plan together, who were bold enough to speak up and help the board understand where their priorities should lie, as resourcing was important for the board.
“Our role is to watch where the money is going,” he said.