Govt urged not to turn blind eye on hospital needs

By LULU MARK
THE Government must not overlook the women’s ward at the Port Moresby General Hospital, a senior obstetrician and gynaecologist says.
The University of Papua New Guinea School of Medicine and Health Science head of reproductive health, obstetrics and gynaecology Professor Glen Mola said there was a need for two district hospitals in the National Capital District (NCD).
Mola said the Government needed to build a district hospital in Moresby South and Moresby North East with a maternity wing to cater for women who needed birthing services in that part of the city.
He added that the Gerehu hospital needed to have a maternity facility as well, something they had tried to establish previously.
Mola made the call on behalf of the more than 20,000 women who visited the gynaecology, family planning, antenatal and post natal clinics annually.
He said about 15,000 mothers gave birth every year and 5,000 of those births involved some type of complication.
Mola said a shortage of specifically trained medical personnel only one of the three operating theatres would be open throughout the night.
He said about 50 women gave birth every day at PMGH but the labour ward had only 24 beds.
He said the women were giving birth on the floor because there was no bed space.
Mola said the post-natal care where the mother and the baby would move to from the labour ward had 100 beds which was inadequate.
He said this was because women needed post birth care to recover before leaving the hospital; some of the women and babies with complications would need to remain in the ward.
Mola said at the PMGH, the facility and medicine were available and there were well trained doctors and nurses that ensured quality antenatal care was given including supervised deliveries, but the problem was they were not enough to cater for the large number women coming in.
Therefore, he said preventable maternal and neonatal deaths sometimes occurred.
Mola said every month there were around 1,200 births of which 30 babies would die.