Hospital’s low supplies affects ops

By LULU MARK
A SHORTAGE of medicine and consumable has forced the Kiunga District Hospital in Western to scale down its operations, an official says.
The hospital administrator Geawi Giriha told The National on Wednesday that the stock of mainline and theatre emergency drugs were low while the centre did not have oxygen which was needed in the operating theatre.
Giriha said orders were placed at the area medical store (AMS) several months ago under the category “very urgent” but nothing had arrived.
He said officers were dispatched to Port Moresby a month ago to follow up the order.
As a result, Giriha said he met with his staff on Tuesday and they resolved to scale down the hospital’s services including admission of patients to the wards until supplies were received from the AMS.
“We are just hoping that we do not receive emergency cases or someone needing an operation because we do not want to have a situation where a patient dies in front of us,” he said.
“The contractor engaged by the Health Department to supply the oxygen kept our empty cylinders here in their container.
“I am flying to Port Moresby to make sure I pick up the urgent drugs and put them on the plane to Kiunga.”
Giriha said at the AMS, an empty cylinder was exchanged with a full one, therefore, he told the contractor to prepare two to have it flown over if the airline allowed it.
He said oxygen cylinders were only transported on ships, adding that even the empty cylinders were considered dangerous.
Giriha said the most affected department of the hospital were the operating theatre, laboratory and X-ray facilities.
He said the hospital was a referral hospital in North Fly and treated between 100 and 150 patients daily.
Giriha said there was an increase in the number of patients and medicine stocks had been depleted.