Improve workers’ conditions, officer says

 By FAYE MIKA

HEALTH Secretary Pascoe Kase wants the government to seriously consider improving health workers’ conditions throughout the country. 

He said this yesterday at the health and population sectoral committee meeting at the Aopi Centre, Port Moresby.

Kase said competition with development partners who offered better packages and privileges were the main indicators that led to a huge shortage of workers in public health care facilities.

“All our workers are going to the private sector,” he said.

“It’s about time we started considering improving workers’ conditions.”

Kase commended donor agency, AusAID, for providing about 400 scholarships for health workers.

He said that helped to boost the number of health professionals in rural areas in providing basic health care.

He appealed to retrench unemployed health professionals to consult the Health Department to submit their interest for re-employment.

Kase said the committee was part of the consultative implementation and monitoring council that meet quarterly to discuss health issues.

It looked at how donor agencies and stakeholders played their role in partnership with the Health Department  to  improve basic health care.

Yesterday’s discussions involved population growth and family planning, the rollout of family support centres and the government’s free primary health care policy.