Morobe to train health workers

HEALTH workers in Morobe’s districts are yet to be taught how to isolate and monitor people with mild or moderate suspected coronavirus cases at the village or district level.
These health workers were provided with basic awareness kits to conduct awareness in respective catchment areas on social distancing, hand-washing and coughing into the elbow.
Morobe health adviser Micah Yawing confirmed this when The National enquired about how prepared district health workers were to contain the Covid-19.
“They are yet to be taught basic measures on how to handle mild and moderate cases and how to isolate patients and if it became severe, how the patient could be airlifted to Lae,” he said.
Yawing said even personal protective equipment was yet to reach various district health centres.
He said they were in the planning stage and had assigned officers to travel to the Anga, Huon, Lae and Fisika regions to help district health advisers train and supervise health workers.
However, the delay in endorsing funds for transport, training material, accommodation, rations and other contingency costs, including travel allowances, was prolonging the procurement activities.
Yawing denied claims alleging that the contracted logistics company was not delivering medical supplies to designated areas.
A senior health officer in the division, who did not want to be named, alleged that the company was not performing as expected.
“Medicines for Siassi were dropped at Malasiga in Finschhafen, for Yamaya at Aseki station and Wegezaring in Pindiu at Gagidu station,” the source said.
Lablab health centre officer in-charge Grace John told The National on Tuesday that she never received drug supplies for January to April.
“Our shelves are empty,” she said.
Yawing said the standard operating procedure was for health centres to send in medicine orders after every two months but communication could be a problem.