State willing to pay compo, says Wong

By LULU MARK
THE State will take full responsibility of the four deaths caused by the use of a batch of Propofol at the Port Moresby General Hospital (PMGH) in August, Health Minister Jelta Wong says.
He said the responsibility would include paying compensation to the families of those who had died.
Wong was responding to questions by The National as to when the report on the investigation sanctioned by him would be made public as the family of a 14-year-old boy who died in that incident raised concerns that it was taking too long for the Health Department get back to them or release the report. “We are all parents – we know how we would feel if our child was in that situation so we are pushing hard,” Wong said.
“Yes, we did our own inquiry and we’ve got the answers back.
“We’re looking at the administrative issue of what happened.
“We take full responsibility of the young fellow as well as the others who died from the Propofol.
“(State) will also be compensating the (families) of the victims.”
Wong said the report would be given to the family and if they want to make it public then it was up to them.
“But reports don’t just happen overnight, we have to turn over every stone to ensure that we have the right information because on the other side we have Papua New Guineans (medical practitioners) that are involved as well.
“Our problem was to making sure the test, the process and everything was followed.
“We have to look at all angles of it to ensure that we have the right process and this never happens again.”
He said administratively, Health secretary Dr Osborne Liko would look at how the Propofol got into the country and ensure that all the people involved along the process were held accountable.
Wong said the Health Department would talk to the families and then release a statement.