By SEPKOLIN WALNE
Health Minister Elias Kapavore has told Parliament that it is against patients’ rights for international media to walk into hospitals to take pictures and record footage of patients, including mothers lying in corridors at Port Moresby General Hospital (PMGH).
Responding to a question from Saki Hacky Soloma on health conditions at PMGH, Minister Kapavore said the situation at the hospital is not being hidden, but government is aware and working to address the challenges.
“PMGH at the moment is governed by the Public Hospital Act 1994, same as PHA’s that come under the 2007 Act,” he said.
He said PMGH currently has 1,491 staff, with 255 vacant positions still being filled through ongoing recruitment.
“We know that 17,000 mothers deliver babies in the maternity ward every year and about 60 every month,” Minister Kapavore said.
He added that there are 24 midwives at the facility, while in the National Capital District there are over 300 staff and 30 doctors supporting health services.
Minister Kapavore said discussions are ongoing to improve coordination and service delivery, particularly in light of pressure on PMGH.
“These things are happening because our primary health care system in NCD is not working properly,” he said. “That is why all the sick patients are going to PMGH only.”
He stressed that PMGH is a Level 6 referral, super-specialist teaching and research hospital, and should not be used as a primary care facility.
“At the moment, we don’t have those kinds of facilities,” he said, referring to lower-level health services that should manage routine cases.
Minister Kapavore appealed to mothers in NCD to consider using facilities such as Metoreia Clinic in Moresby North East for deliveries instead of going directly to PMGH.