Lack of support affects workers

By LULU MARK
THE lack of sufficient support given to hospitals is frustrating to a point where it demoralises staff at times, a doctor says.
Head of obstetrics and gynaecology at the Port Moresby General Hospital (PMGH) Dr Glen Mola, said there was a need for more nurses and doctors because there were too many patients.
In his department, he said, there were seven specialist doctors and about 150 nurses.
Mola, who is also the University of Papua New Guinea Medical School professor, said of the seven specialists, three were university lecturers, one was attached to the National Health Office, and three were actually full-time doctors with 12 specialist trainees.
“The university lecturers are spending more time at the hospital because we use the hospital to teach,”he said.
He said often on night shift, one nurse would supervise 40 mothers with medical problems at the maternity ward which was not okay.
However, he said that was according to the roster as per the total number of nurses.
There were three eight-hourly shifts daily and the nurses were entitled to a day-off.
Despite the shortage of staff and lack of bed space and resources, he said the outcomes of the maternity hospital were good.
“This was because we work as a team, we help each other, we collaborate and we follow protocols that are evidence based.”
Mola said the staff were frustrated and their morale lowered when no improvements were made to the hospital despite countless call.
“Compared with maternal hospitals in the capital cities of other developing countries with the same socio-economic status as PNG, we are the best,” he said.
“The overload is too much and if we are not supported, we will not be able to maintain the best status for much longer.
“It is going to deteriorate.”
Being a doctor who travels extensively throughout PNG for research and work, Mola said many rural government health facilities where 80 per cent of the population lived, needed urgent support.
He said there were less supervision and services were not up to standards.
Mola added that church agency-run facilities were operating well because there was good supervision from their management systems.