Cancer facility underway

By LULU MARK
CANCER is a big problem in Papua New Guinea as more people are dying unnecessarily because of the lack of a treatment facility, Port Moresby General Hospital (PMGH) chief executive officer Dr Paki Molumi says.
Dr Molumi said the hospital was working towards delivering the country’s first modern and comprehensive cancer treatment facility by the end of the year.
In an exclusive interview with The National, he provided an update on the construction of the facility which started in 2018.
During the signing of contract for the procurement, installation and commissioning of a Linear Accelarator (Linac) machine for radiotherapy treatment between Central Supplies and Tenders Board, PMGH and Varian Medical Systems Pty Ltd last March, the then-health minister Sir Puka Temu said the facility would be ready by the end of 2019.
Dr Molumi said the delay was with the Regulatory Bill which was passed but the second, and main reason, was “getting the specifications and standards correct to meet the requirement of building the cancer bunker which will house the Linac”.
“It’s like you are trying to house a bomb so we’ve got to meet all the standards of the international atomic agency,” he said.
“No concrete supplied in PNG met the standard so we ordered around 600 cubic metres from Brisbane.”
Dr Molumi said the concrete was poured on Sunday as scheduled for the construction of the two cancer bunkers.
He said experts from Australia were also flown in to supervise the pouring in of the concrete because specific standards had to be met at every pour.
The project, he said, was part of the 2018-19 funding for the heart and cancer project.
The heart project was delivered last year with the opening of the Cath Lab, cardiac ward and outpatient.
The diagnostic ward would be open soon.
Dr Molumi said the cancer facility was still under construction which, “we should be able to complete by November as per the project timeline”.
The cancer project included cancer bunkers, ward, standby power source and the 48-bed palliative ward which was completed and awaiting beds to be fitted.
Dr Molumi said the first Linac was built and assembled in the United States and ready to be installed into the bunker and the procurement of the second Linac will be included in the 2021 budget.
“Cancer service in this country is a fragmented service so what we are trying to do with this facility is to provide a one-stop shop comprehensive care,” he said.
“Right now we have a very clear direction on where the project is going to go and the objective is to provide a very comprehensive cancer facility for the people of this country
which has been lacking for very long time.”