Vital to prevent health workers from leaving

Letters, Normal

THE Pacific Medical Centre should be shelved until all our referral and district hospitals are well equipped with basic medicines, equipment, consumables and staff.
Our people will continue to die if we fail to look after these hospitals.
As it is now, many of our hospitals are underfunded, understaffed and ill-equipped.
We do not even have the basic investigative tools to make a proper diagnosis, let alone medicines and equipment to treat our people.
As a surgeon, I see the PMC as a diamond mine.
I should push for the PMC to be built as it will enable me to do PCNL, TURP, laparoscopic and endoscopic procedures, ERCP, etc, and charge a hefty fee.
I am looking at spending more time in PMC than in the public hospitals because that is where I will earn a lot of money.
The public hospital can treat the “not so important underprivileged population” or referred to me once they have money because most of the top consultants will be at PMC.
But it is not something I want.
Proponents of PMC must visit any of our hospitals and see the deplorable state they are in.
It will be a reality check for many if they were to see our run-down aid posts and rural health centres.
What is more important is to improve the work condition and stop our nurses, doctors and other health workers from going abroad to work.
You will be amazed at what we can do if we have the right equipment and proper tools.

 

Neapsy Kemben
Via email