PORT Moresby General Hospital (PMGH) chief executive officer Dr Paki Molumi has called for the urgent establishment and upgrading of district-level hospitals in the National Capital District (NCD), saying expanding the hospital’s Emergency Department alone will not solve the growing congestion.
In a press statement released today, Dr Molumi said PMGH was currently the only fully functioning public emergency department serving a city population of more than one million people, placing an unsustainable burden on the country’s premier referral hospital.
He said more than 80 per cent of patients presenting to the PMGH Emergency Department were Category 3 cases, many of whom could be managed at district-level emergency facilities rather than being referred directly to the main hospital.
However, the absence of functional emergency departments at the NCD Provincial Health Authority (NCDPHA) and Central Provincial Health Authority (CPHA) has left PMGH as the default destination for emergency cases across the city, regardless of their severity.
Dr Molumi said the situation was further compounded by the lack of Level 4 hospitals in Moresby North East and Moresby South, while Gerehu Hospital, which serves Moresby North West, did not have a fully functional emergency department capable of meeting demand.
He said PMGH and NCDPHA had established the Six Mile Clinic Emergency Department as a filtering service to reduce pressure on the main hospital.
The service had expanded over the past two years from a day clinic into a 24-hour emergency facility, but was now also overwhelmed by increasing patient numbers.
Dr Molumi said as a Level 6 referral hospital, PMGH should primarily manage Category 1 and Category 2 emergency cases, alongside patients requiring specialist referral services.
However, rapid population growth, urban migration and the lack of functional district-level emergency services had forced the hospital to absorb the majority of emergency presentations.
To address the situation, Dr Molumi called for three urgent interventions, including the establishment of a Level 4 hospital in Moresby North East, the opening and operationalisation of Moresby South District Hospital, and the immediate upgrading of Gerehu Hospital into a fully operational Level 4 facility with an emergency department.
He specifically called on Moresby North East MP Hon John Kaupa to prioritise the establishment of a Level 4 district hospital in his electorate to ensure residents could access emergency medical services closer to home.
Dr Molumi said Moresby South District Hospital was expected to open this year, which would help improve healthcare access for residents in the district.
He said the upgrading of Gerehu Hospital was equally important to ensure Moresby North West residents had access to functional district-level emergency services.
“These investments would allow patients to access emergency care closer to home while ensuring PMGH can focus on its role as the country’s premier referral hospital,” he said.
Dr Molumi’s latest concerns echo warnings he made in a December 5, 2023 media statement, when he said PMGH was struggling to meet the country’s specialist healthcare demands because it was also carrying the primary and secondary healthcare responsibilities of Port Moresby, Central and Gulf provinces.
At the time, he identified the absence of designated Level 5 hospitals for NCDPHA and Central PHA, as well as inadequate Level 4 district health facilities, as major contributors to the pressure on PMGH.
He warned that overcrowding was affecting not only the Emergency Department but also the maternity ward, outpatient services, radiology and pathology departments, with some mothers reportedly delivering babies on the floor due to limited space.
Despite carrying the additional healthcare burden, PMGH had continued expanding specialised services, including neurosurgery, orthopaedics, obstetrics and gynaecology, while progressing plans for cardiac, kidney and cancer services.
In his 2023 statement, Dr Molumi also pointed to government plans for designated Level 5 hospitals under NCDPHA and Central PHA, the development of Moresby South District Hospital and the expansion of Taurama Military Hospital as measures expected to ease pressure on PMGH.
He anticipated that by 2030, PMGH would be able to transfer some primary and secondary healthcare services to these facilities and concentrate more on specialised referral services, while retaining some lower-level services for the training of undergraduate and postgraduate medical students.
Dr Molumi acknowledged that plans to expand the PMGH Emergency Department were welcome and necessary but stressed that infrastructure expansion alone would not address the underlying problem.
He said the long-term solution required a stronger and more functional district health system, supported by properly equipped Level 4 hospitals and emergency departments across Port Moresby.
“We cannot continue to place the entire burden of emergency care for Port Moresby on PMGH alone,” Dr Molumi said.