Hospital to launch theatre

By HELEN TARAWA
The K14 million Popondetta General Hospital operation theatre project will be launched next month, Health Secretary Pasoe Kase says.
Kase told The National that it was a project initiated and funded by the department in its bid to develop and expand some of the hospital facilities throughout the country.
“The Health Department and the hospital boards are the executing agency for such projects,” he said.
“It’s quite a big infrastructure development project in Northern and we are very happy and we hope that it will be launched soon.
“We have similar developments for theatres in Madang and Kavieng which we opened last year.”
Kase said Northern had already signed a partnership agreement for Provincial Health Authorities (PHAs).
He said Governor Gary Juffa was keen to have the PHA established so most likely by mid this year.
“We will launch the PHA and the governor is very keen to have it in place to manage both rural health and public hospitals,” Kase said.
“We have Jiwaka, Hela, Western, Madang and Northern in the pipeline.”
He added that so far 14 provinces had signed their agreements for PHAs with 10 already in place while others were in the process of getting legal documents signed.
Kase said Popondetta General Hospital had an acting chief executive officer Dr Opum Petrus.
Kase said outgoing chief executive officer Dr Gunzee Gawin had taken up his new post with Hela Provincial Health Authority.
“Gawin wants to face the challenge of a new province and to develop things from nothing,” Kase said.