Villagers make peace with staff at Boram Hospital

By GYNNIE KERO in Wewak
East Sepik health authority chief executive officer Mark Mauludu says services offered at Boram Hospital in Wewak are for everyone.
He was speaking at a reconciliation between the hospital and people living near the Boram area.
An incident happened on Jan 25 where a minority from the community caused damage to the hospital and injured a staff.
The incident was understood to have stemmed from frustration by community after a child died, allegedly because he was not attended to quickly by hospital staff.
Despite the incident, Mauludu thanked the community for coming forward to reconcile and move forward.
“People from Lain Kokonas, we (hospital) accept your apology,” he said. “Services here at the hospital are free, we will not restrict anybody.
“I want to clear the air also, that the door to accidents and emergency will be closed not because of this incident but because of redevelopment work going on.”
Louis Koinduo, spokesperson for the Lain Kokonas community, said at least 50 people were homeless following the incident and fended off relatives for food, clothes and shelter. “The incident is a pain to all of us,” he said. “Despite our loss, we are here to apologise to the hospital and staff for what had happened.”