By GINNAH MINI
PARADISE Private Hospital (PPH) and Kind Cuts for Kids (KCfK) Australia have signed a two-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen paediatric surgical services, clinical training and specialist capacity building in Papua New Guinea.
Under the partnership, KCfK will provide specialist paediatric surgical expertise and support agreed procedures while working alongside Papua New Guinean medical teams through clinical mentoring, supervision, lectures, workshops and hands-on training.
Speaking at the MoU signing, PPH General Surgeon Dr Polapoi Chalau said the partnership would provide an opportunity to further improve healthcare services for children in the country.
“There is a lot that needs to be done for our children, and this opportunity through this collaboration is the only way that we can continue to improve healthcare until Papua New Guineans are at a stage where we can take full control,” Dr Chalau said.
PPH Director of Finance and Commercial and co-owner Janet Sios said the partnership would be rolled out in PNG in collaboration with Port Moresby General Hospital (Pom Gen), with the hope that all Provincial Health Authorities would eventually join the initiative.
PPH said KCfK founder and paediatric urologist Professor Paddy Dewan would perform surgeries at PPH, followed by four major surgeries in the Western Highlands Province. He would later attend to selected cases at Pom Gen.
Professor Dewan said the collaboration between PPH, KCfK and PNG’s public health services was advancing the care of children with surgical conditions.
“PNG has a wealth of paediatric surgical talent that has been relatively unrecognised and untapped,” Professor Dewan said.
He added that, with good leadership, PNG could become a regional centre of excellence in paediatric surgical care, benefiting children across the country and the region.
The signing of the MoU builds on KCfK’s longstanding specialist outreach work in PNG and further strengthens
PPH’s commitment to improving access to specialised healthcare services across the country.