MP: People denied healthcare

PEOPLE in remote areas are being denied access to healthcare and medicines, former prime minister Peter O’Neill says.
The Ialibu-Pangia MP made this known after the Christian Health services (CHS) and Catholic church health services (CCHS) served a “stop work” notice to the Health Department over outstanding grants.
Prime Minister James Marape, on Thursday, apologised to workers in church-run health facilities for the four-month of non-payment of their salaries, saying K20 million had now been made available for that purpose.
But O’Neill, in a statement, said: “The funding for church health services in the budget was passed into law by the Parliament, and now, Marape and (Ian) Ling-Stuckey are not delivering the money that was committed.
“No worker should ever have to go to the media to get the pay and conditions that are due to them, but this is happening time and time again as workers turn to the media as a last resort to feed their families.
“We saw this with the most recent occasion when the Government failed to pay public service wages, and it was only forced into action when the Opposition demanded the Government to come clean and pay the workers.
“Right now, people from the towns and cities to the most remote areas are being denied access to healthcare and medicines they need to stay alive.
“Our people and the Government need strong partnerships with our churches for healthcare and education, and this is now failing because of neglect and a lack of interest from the Marape administration.”