Health authority appoints new doctor to serve at rural health centre

THE Simbu health authority (PHA) installed a new doctor at Gembogl Rural Health Centre this week.
Dr Terence Kee’s posting to Gembogl brings the number of doctors posted to rural health centre to two in the province.
Simbu PHA chief executive officer Dr Francis Wandi welcomed Dr Kee to his new posting with Dr Harry Poka having been installed at Chuave Hospital on Monday.
Dr Wandi said the decision to deploy doctors in rural hospitals brought curative services closer to the people and was consistent with the requirement of the Government’s policy enshrined in Vision 2050 and the national health plan.
He said the increasing population in rural communities required access to quality health services and this would only be achieved through having personnel and resources in the communities.
Dr Wandi said the PHA would ensure antibiotics, other essential medicines and services were available daily at every facility to treat patients at any one time.
He said this would spare the sick and those needing treatment from travelling to provincial capital Kundiawa for health services.
“Simbu PHA is implementing the Government’s vision to bring quality health care to where you are and does not want to see you making long risky journeys seeking it,” he told the people of Gembogl.
Dr Wandi said the rural health facilities would be staffed by fulltime doctors and associated professionals as well as medicines and appropriate infrastructure.
Simbu PHA curative division head Dr Raymond Saulep said Dr Kee, who had worked under him in the curative division, was part of the drive to bring rural medicine to where the people were.
Gembogl Health Centre officer-in-charge Alois Gende thanked the PHA for appointing Dr Kee and assured them that he would work with him to improve the healthcare services in the community.
Dr Kee has been allocated a vehicle and a house.