Official: Partnership vital to implement health plan

By LULU MAGINDE
HEALTH deputy secretary Elva Lionel says partnerships will be key in the successful implementation of the national health plan.
She said this when speaking on behalf of Health secretary Dr Osborne Liko at the launch of the Port Moresby General Hospital (PMGH) corporate plan on Tuesday.
“Partnerships are critical because we are facing a workforce crisis so this can be addressed through enhancing our partnerships,” she said.
Lionel said workforce training would focus on clinical with the higher education sector needing to look at boosting the amount of training for health workers.
She noted that PMGH needed to be elevated to a level six hospital which treated referrals from other hospitals in the country.
Lionel commended PMGH for launching their corporate plan and added that it was the first step in better management practices.
“We will expect the whole health system, our 27 agencies which our minister looks after, to have a corporate plan to translate our national health plan into our business in each of the institutions,” she said.
Lionel said despite more funding allocated to health, planning needed to be done to ensure all hospitals benefited and infrastructure, equipment and training needs were addressed.
“Until we have the proper infrastructure and manpower, it’s going to be a little bit difficult to apply for more funds,” she said.
“So I think the corporate plan is in the right direction, that we need to build up our facilities for the specialist services and care and then recruit the relevant people.”
Lionel also acknowledged the role of private partners in the health sector and ongoing collaboration to ensure a quality service to the country.