Nurses set to undergo kidney dialysis training

National

By PETER WARI
THE Papua New Guinea Kidney Foundation (PNGKF) will train two nurses from Southern Highlands to operate a kidney dialysis unit at the Mendi Provincial Hospital, chief operating officer Khalik Bin Untong says.
The training will be undertaken once the unit is established at the hospital.
Untong said six nurses working at the Port Moresby General Hospital had already undergone intensive training on the kidney dialysis and PNGKF would be conducting another training and would take two nurses from Mendi for the training in kidney disease and treatment.
Untong said the nurses would sit for an examination in order to be certified kidney dialysis nurses in the unit.
He said the kidney dialysis unit in Mendi would be mainly used by patients from the Highlands.
He said the foundation was looking to sponsor two local doctors to be trained in nephrology in Malaysia – the course would be over three years.
This was to help build up the country’s expertise in the treatment of kidney disease.
Untong said this during a consultative meeting in Mendi for a kidney dialysis unit for the Mendi provincial hospital last Wednesday.
He said currently, Dr Steven Bokosia was the only person to undergo training in the field of nephrology and would be the first certified nephrologist (kidney specialist) in the country.
Untong said the biggest challenge was about the running of the dialysis unit.
He said the water system was crucial for the success of the dialysis unit.
“The most important thing we have to learn in the dialysis unit is the water system,” Untong said.