Boost for rural hospital

KEREVAT rural hospital in Gazelle, East New Britain, has been given a boost with the arrival of new resident doctor, Dr Trevor Ikiso from Eastern Highlands.
Gazelle MP Jelta Wong said Ikiso’s placement was a major achievement for Gazelle and the provincial health authority (PHA).
Wong, who is Health and HIV/AIDS Minister, said the health centre had been without qualified doctors for the last 40 years and the arrival of Dr Ikiso was part of efforts to improve health services in the district.
“There are no doctors in the remote and rural areas where the majority of our people live,” he said.
Dr Ikiso has more than eight years of experience in medical and clinical pathology laboratory, working in both public and private health facilities, especially in Port Moresby as a senior medical laboratory scientist.
“The East New Britain PHA, through the Gazelle administration, has met requirements such as providing suitable accommodation for Dr Ikiso to be a permanent resident so we can achieve improvements in clinical patient care while at the same time significantly reducing referrals to Nonga and Vunapope hospitals,” Wong said.
Kerevat rural hospital is among two others in ENB that gained rural hospital status a decade ago to ease pressure on health services provided by Vunapope and Nonga.