PORT Moresby General Hospital Chief Executive Officer Dr Paki Molum has called for urgent investment in primary and secondary health services in the National Capital District and Central Province, warning that increasing patient numbers are placing unsustainable pressure on Papua New Guinea’s national referral hospital.
Speaking on the growing demands facing the hospital, Dr Molum said PMGH, as the country’s Level 6 National Tertiary Referral, Research and Teaching Hospital, was established to provide highly specialized care for serious conditions such as heart disease, stroke, cancer and kidney disease.
He said the hospital’s long-term vision is to ensure Papua New Guineans can access world-class specialist treatment locally, reducing the need for costly overseas medical care.
However, Dr Molum said weak district and provincial health systems are forcing PMGH to absorb large numbers of patients who should be treated at lower-level facilities.
Under the National Health Service Standards framework, each district is expected to operate a Level 4 District Hospital, while every province should have a Level 5 Provincial Hospital. But according to Dr Molum, the National Capital District and Central Province remain the only provinces in the country without Level 5 hospitals.
He said many Level 4 facilities in Moresby North East, Moresby South and parts of Central Province are either under-resourced or not fully functional, leaving PMGH to effectively carry the workload of two Level 5 hospitals and several district hospitals.
Patients from Gulf Province also continue to depend heavily on PMGH services.
“With the combined population of Port Moresby and Central Province now exceeding one million people, PMGH is stretched to its limits,” Dr Molum said.
He revealed that around 80 percent of services currently delivered at PMGH are secondary care services, while only 20 percent are specialized tertiary services — the core role the hospital was designed to perform.
Dr Molum warned that unless urgent action is taken to strengthen surrounding health facilities, secondary care demands will continue to overwhelm the hospital’s specialist capacity.
One of the most heavily affected areas is maternity care.
PMGH currently delivers approximately 17,000 babies each year — averaging about 60 births every day — in a labor ward with only 25 beds.
Dr Molum said the situation is becoming increasingly unsustainable due to rapid population growth and migration into Port Moresby.
“To ease this burden, there must be immediate investment into NCD and Central Province health facilities,” he said.
PMGH is now advocating for the establishment of at least six labor beds each in Moresby North East, Moresby South and Moresby North West, alongside three additional labor beds at Motoreia.
Dr Molum said the combined addition of up to 20 labor beds across these facilities would significantly reduce congestion at PMGH and improve maternal healthcare services for women and families.
The hospital is also rallying support to raise funds for 18 additional labor beds across National Capital District Provincial Health Authority facilities.
“Every mother deserves a safe and dignified place to welcome her child into the world,” Dr Molum said.
“Together, we can provide that.”