Morobe welcomes health plan

By ELLEN TIAMU
MOST people interviewed in Lae and Morobe have welcomed the introduction of free health services in the country.
A senior medical doctor – who asked not to be named – in Lae said the move was long overdue.
He said the fees collected from patients were sufficient only to buy drugs – not to meet operational costs of the hospitals and health centres.
He said the declaration was great news for women and children in rural areas who, on many occasions, did not have enough money to pay for medical fees.
He said many people had died because they did not have the money to seek better medical attention.
He said medical supplies to hospitals must be increased through the medical stores.
Medical stores have been a cause of concern as much of their content such as medical supplies and drugs are never forwarded to hospitals and health centres where they were needed and went to waste.
He said the delivery of pharmaceutical services in the past had been slow and there should be an improvement in such services.  
The doctor said the entire medical system must be reviewed with a protocol in place for all doctors to follow if they urgently required things such as highly specialised instruments.
He said this was a far cry from the move by the Somare government to build a private hospital in Port Moresby that would serve only the elite.
Some people were wary, saying they hoped this however would mean drugs and equipment would reach rural health centres.
The bulk of the population of Papua New Guinea needing health services lived in rural areas.