Kundiawa General Hospital nursing director’s late posting questioned

KUNDIAWA General Hospital nurses want the hospital board and acting chief executive officer to explain why the newly-appointed director of nursing services (DNS) took up his post three months after his appointment.
Simbu branch nurses association president Martella Bige Kuman said under the general orders of the Public Service Management Act, the DNS must commence work 30 days upon receipt of the appointment letter.
Mrs Kuman said the nurses and other health workers want to know how and why the general orders were
not followed.
She claimed if the hospital management were to follow the Orders and re-advertised the position after the
newly-appointed DNS did not show up for work in the last three months, locals should apply and could occupy the position. Mrs Kuman said the nurses staged a sit-in protest last Nov 12 regarding some senior positions that were not given to locals. “The hospital board and administration promised to re-advertise the additional positions which they did in November. “Yet the hospital board and management gave the DNS position to a man from another province.
“This did not go down well with the locals. “Priority should be given to locals because the province had spent so much money to train officers to occupy higher positions.
“We now have many well trained nurses who are suitable for the post but the management chose to overlook them,” she said. Mrs Kuman said under the recruitment and selection procedure, acting department heads did not have the power to carry out selection. “The hospital cannot use taxpayers’ money to rent a house for the new DNS because the outgoing DNS slept in his own house,” she said.
Mrs Kuman said that if the hospital was going to rent a house for a new DNS, then it should compensate the outgoing DNS.
“The hospital must treat its staff fairly across the board.
“Nurses are now sleeping in condemned quarters with no electricity and water supplies, and septic toilets.
“The hospital management must improve the living conditions of nurses,” she said.
Attempts to reach the acting CEO for comments were unsuccessful.