‘Bring in experts to help treat Covid patients’

MEDICAL experts with experience in treating the coronavirus (Covid-19) should be brought in from abroad to help manage patients, Papua New Guinea National Health Board deputy chairman and West New Britain health authority chairman Dr Mathias Sapuri says.
“It is time everybody from the public to private health sector, the universities and development partners work together in the Covid-19 response,” he said.
“It is about time that we all hold hands together, we need everybody on deck to work together.”
Dr Sapuri said this at a press conference on the Covid-19 response held by Health secretary Dr Osborne Liko on Thursday which included representatives from public and private hospitals, medical and scientific advisory committee, the University of Papua New Guinea school of medicine and health science, National Doctors Association and development partners.
“I deliberately accepted this invitation to come to make this point,” he said.
“I know we are limited with human resources to do things in this country.
“But, thankfully, the Australia medical team will come on board.”
Dr Sapuri, who is also the chief consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at Pacific International Hospital, said: “I said to our chief executive officer (Sandeep Shaligram); ‘Look, find other ways to bring more additional staff to come into the country to help manage the Covid-19 patients’. I am talking about treating patients, not about the public health programme, but, the people doing the job of looking after sick Covid-19 patients.
“That is our biggest challenge in the country because the numbers are going to continue to escalate, so we need to bring people who have already had experience treating patients with the Covid-19.
“I hope if we all work together with our development partners, find every avenue as possible to bring people from abroad with international experience to help us manage clinical Covid-19 patients.”