O’Neill opens nursing college

PRIME Minister Peter O’Neill opened the Divine Word University Nursing College in Wewak, East Sepik on Wednesday, saying we must plan for future population growth.
O’Neill said the nation had no choice but to keep up with healthcare requirements.
“Our population is growing at a rate that will reach 300,000 births a year before too long,” he said.
“This is unsustainable and existing services will not be able to cope.”
He said while programmes were being developed to slow down population growth, “the reality is that the number of people in the county will continue to increase”.
“And this means we require more healthcare professionals,” he said.
“It is the same story for many countries where populations are going up and more doctors and nurses are required.”
He said the first cohort of 60 nurses was starting their training.