Nonga Base Hospital partners with universities

 The Nonga Base Hospital in Rabaul, East New Britain, has partnered with the Divine Word and the Pacific Adventist universities to train nurses and midwives.

Chief executive officer Dr Ako Yap told The National yesterday that the hospital had signed two separate memoranda of understanding (MOU) with the universities this year. “The first with DWU is for nurses to be trained at the Saint Mary’s Vunapope School of Nursing, doing a bachelor’s degree programme in midwifery,” he said.

Yap said the hospital would enrol the first batch of seven nurses at the Vunapope campus to begin the programme.

“The second understanding, signed two weeks ago, will allow undergraduate nursing students from PAU to do their practical at the hospital,” he said.

“The hospital board and staff are excited about the partnerships, which is a first for the hospital.

“It is part of addressing the lack of manpower in the New Guinea Islands health sector.

“We need more professional and skilled nurses and midwives in the country.”

Yap said the partnerships would reduce maternal mortality rates in the islands and strengthen working relations between stakeholders.

Meanwhile, Nonga Hospital was also planning to set up a diabetes clinic.

“But, at the moment, there are no funds to progress the project,” he said.

Yap said it was important that the province had in place such a facility to provide clinical help to the growing number of diabetes patients in the Islands region.