K270,000 for free services

 THE Nonga Base Hospital in East New Britain has been allocated K270,000 to implement the Government’s free primary health care and subsidised specialist service policy, an officer says.

The Government plans to provide health services that are accessible and affordable to people. 

Hospitals and health centres are being urged to implement the policy.

Hospital chief executive officer Dr Ako Yap said the provincial government was responsible for providing free primary health care and the provincial health office should have received funds to implement the policy.

“We are responsible for implementing the subsidised hospital services that the K270,000 funding has been allocated for and are now waiting for the health minister to put into effect the policy before we implement it,” Yap said.

He said they were advising staff members to tell patients that most public patient services were free.

Yap said they had received a positive feedback on the rural health services started in March.

“We are sending our specialist medical officers out to the health centres and rural areas to bring health services closer to the people as most of them cannot come to the hospital,” he said.

The services are restricted to the mainland because officers have no boats to travel to the islands of Duke of York, Watom and Lassul-Baining.