Cubans to serve in 10 districts

The National National

BETWEEN 20 and 30 Cuban doctors are to work in 10 district hospitals here according to a 2016 memorandum of understanding, says Dr James Naipao.
Naipao, the president of the National Doctors Association, was responding to a statement by Prime Minister Peter O’Neill that public servants were blocking the recruitment of the Cuban doctors.
He said the association supported what was initially discussed and agreed to.
“Any deviation such as bringing in 300 Cuban doctors will not sit well with the association which the majority of national doctors working in PNG are members of,” he said.
Naipao said the memorandum signed by officials from Cuba and PNG in 2016, included that:

  • Two Cuba cancer specialists to be immediately deployed to Angau hospital, and two biomedical technologists employed;
  • a Cuban professor will be provided to the proposed new standalone and revitalised School of Medicine and Health Science to be called the Papua New Guinea Medical and Health Sciences University;
  • Cuba to assist in health research and training;
  • Cuba to assist PNG with medicines, medical supplies and diagnostic technology; and,
  • Cuba to assist with information and communication technology and asset and infrastructure development.

Naipao said to date all that was agreed to had not been realised.
He blamed the delay in getting the Cuban doctors over on the memorandum not being recognised by the Department of Personal Management.
UPNG also rejected the idea of turning the medical health science campus to be a standalone university.
“Separate funding mechanism would make this medical school reach its goals and objective. The medical school is one of the best in the region. However it is ill-equipped,” he said.