Kundiawa health staff walk off jobs

By ZACHERY PER
THE Sir Joseph Nombri Kundiawa General Hospital has been forced to close after staff walked off their jobs in protest against recent appointments at the hospital.
They had sent a petition to Health Minister Jamie Maxtone-Graham last week complaining about the appointments of Sir Orpah Tugo as acting chief executive officer and Gerald Philip as chairman of the hospital board.
He is yet to respond to it.
Hospital staff walked off their jobs on Monday, shutting the gates to the hospital keeping out patients and visitors.
They are waiting for Maxtone-Graham to explain why he re-appointed the two.
It is understood that a team from the Health Department is travelling to Kundiawa today to talk to the staff.
In a memo dated Nov 18, Maxtone-Graham appointed Tugo to replace current acting CEO Mathew Kaluwia and endorsed Philip as board chairman.
The staff protested against the appointments because they claimed the hospital had not been managed properly under the previous administration of Philip and Tugo.
They said Philip’s appointment was a concern as the legitimacy of the board was currently pending in the National Court.
They also opposed Tugo’s appointment because she had allegedly colluded with Philip to divert hospital resources to TNA holdings only for goods and services.
They gave the Health Minister a 48-hour ultimatum to respond.
When no answer came, the staff walked off their jobs on Monday.
They put up banners and barred the public from entering the hospital premises.
They have received support from the National Doctors Association, Allied Health Workers Association, Nursing Association and Community Health Workers Association.
They said the former administration under Philip and Tugo failed to address their needs in terms of training, accommodation, leave fare, plus staff and patient welfare issues.
“We are currently being considered for training, houses built for staff accommodation and our welfare issues being addressed under current administration of acting CEO Kaluwia,” a union member of the AHWA said.
He said they were expecting the delegation from Port Moresby to address their problems once and for all.
“The fate of the hospital operations will be determined on the outcome of today’s meeting,” a representative of the nurses said.