Kase applauds China’s help

By LULU MARK
IT is good to have medical experts from China in Papua New Guinea’s biggest hospital at a time when the country is facing a shortage of health workers, an official says.
Health Department secretary Pascoe Kase said the Chinese government had continuously sent medical teams to PNG since 2002 and these experts had contributed to the capacity building of local experts and improvements at the Port Moresby General Hospital.
He told the delegation from the Chongquing Health Commission of China that there was a shortage in the workforce in all the cadres of health in the country. Over the 17 years, 90 consultant doctors and support staff were sent in 10-member teams who spent almost two years in the country.
He thanked the ninth medical team for a job well done and welcomed the 10th team which included an oncologist, cardiologist, urologist, obstetrician, gynecologist, anesthetist and an acupuncturist.
Kase said the government was serious about having the cancer centre in PMGH and Angau up and running, therefore, it was encouraging to know that an oncologist was part of the new team.
He said the last team had contributed a lot to local knowledge in the fields of urology and minimally invasive surgery.
“We are grateful for the support that costs us nothing,” Kase said.
He said all the expenses of having the medical teams in PNG were covered by the Chinese government.
Head of the Chinese delegation Li Yanping said experts were sent here because the Chinese government thought it was necessary.
She said the team would continue to work on current priorities which were the establishment of the minimally invasive surgery centre and supporting of the PMGH cancer treatment centre.