Hospital staff issue ultimatum

By ZACHERY PER
STAFF at the Goroka Base General Hospital has given the Eastern Highlands Provincial Health Authority (PHA) seven days to respond to their list of demands or cop industrial action.
“In failing to respond appropriately within the given time-frame would result in staff taking industrial action through their respective unions,” spokesman and unionist Lensen Inanu told the chairman of the authority, David Wong, and board members.
Wong promised the staff to look at their petition and respond soon.  
Inanu said the hospital management, under the provincial hospital system and current authority, had lost focus on the core business – better patient care – resulting in the deterioration of clinical services.
Inanu said there was an acute need to address the decline in clinical services, instil public confidence and an independent clinical service audit.
“The petition is based on quality patient care which is the core function of the hospital – to give the best to the patients.
“What we do should be in the best interest of the hospital and the people of PNG and not for any individual gain,” he said.
Inanu said he did not want to see patients referred to Kundiawa hospital and staff to run to Madang, Lae, Kundiawa, Mt Hagen and other centres to sterilise equipment.
Yesterday’s petition, signed by all the staff of the hospital ranging from cleaners to doctors and specialists, said the management had failed to address staff welfare issues such as proper accommodation, allowances, awards leave entitlements, human resource matters and a failure to ensure availability of essential medical equipment and drugs.
The staff want PHA to revoke acting appointments of directors of curative and corporate services, investigate the awarding of hospital infrastructure projects by them and make new appointments, speed up the appointment of a permanent PHA chief executive and three directors, appoint a hospital manager to run the day-to-day operation of the hospital, include a director of nursing and appoint a staff representative to the PHA board.
Issues of the hospital outlined in the petition included lack of basic medical equipment, shortage of pathology reagents, breakdown of hospital steriliser, no X-rays for two years, non-functioning mortuary facility, lack of proper communication facilities, lack of kitchen appliances in the mess, staff accommodation, lack of shift and transit accommodation for shift workers, inefficiencies in staff payroll systems and staff entitlements and awards.
Wong promised to look into the petition and respond accordingly by the deadline.
There was a tug of war for the venue to present the petition. The staff waited for board members at the hospital mess while the board members waited for them at the authority’s rented office in town.
The tussle went on for three hours before Wong braved through the hospital with his board members to receive the petition.