Despite development, our health system is nothing to boast about

COMMENTS by the deputy health secretary (The National, March 28) on the lack of and difficulty in securing the services of at least just one radiation oncologist brought home the startlingly dark reality of the current incapacity of the National Cancer Services to function properly and effectively.
Dr Goa Tau, executive manager for medical standards, waffled on about the same sad reality but mainly on the lack of interest among university students to take up the relevant courses or pursue this medical field.
Our universities have turned out hundreds and thousands of graduates in law, accountancy and etc so it is utterly unbelievable that over the last 15-20 years, not one or two showed any interest to be an oncologist.
And every year, the University of PNG alone accepts about 4000 students.
Rather than just sit back and bemoan the situation, we should be actively addressing it.
We should be trying to find out the reasons for the lack of interest.
Is it because the field is only limited to the government public health system where benefits may be less lucrative and the field and opportunities may also not be as wide and competitive as it is for an MBBS graduate?
Oro Governor Gary Juffa, who is also deputy chairman of the Special Committee on Public Sector Reform and Service Delivery, could not have put the current dire state of the cancer treatment services and facility more succinctly and forcefully when he said: “This is urgent because as we are speaking, people are dying from cancer out there.”
Why did this serious issue and time bomb have to wait until now for the committee to start asking questions and for the relevant health authorities to reveal the sad situation?
It shows that authorities are incompetent.
If you do not have your own
chef, you hire one and you pay
him well or he will leave you to starve.
We boast of unprecedented development and host international events costing hundreds of millions but the predicament of the national cancer treatment and health services show that we are still in the back waters.
Let us therefore pray that the coming elections will install leaders who can carefully weigh up and properly balance out all the national issues that are still affecting the people.
They should not only focus on the economy but also efforts to improve our health services, human development and other social services that have been starved of funds for years.
The new government should also seriously consider subsidising the specialist medical referrals to the private hospitals where the public hospitals lack the necessary expertise, equipment and appropriate recovery support services.

BT ,
Port Moresby