The country’s chief clinicians and medical support services experts from the National Department of Health (NDoH) have reviewed the Gulf provincial health and its 22 rural health facilities’ existing health systems.
Thanks to the Oil Search Foundation, Papua New Guinea for sponsoring the phases one and two programs.
The phase two ended on a high note recently with the next focus to be Chimbu Province that would make 16 provinces on the roll out program in the country.
This National Health Service Standards (NHSS) exercise is part of the 2011–2020 National Health Plan with the focus on improved quality patient care, increased utilisation of health services and better health outcomes.
The phase two roll-out of the NHSS in Gulf had the highest number of rural health facilities participants and a full panel of medical chiefs and support service experts from NDoH.
The NDoH expert panel reviewed the current existing health delivery standards and made recommendations to improve service delivery and better health outcomes for the province.
“These activities must translate into planning. The purpose of this assessment is patient care and it must be the focal focus of all the planning,” Chief Medical Officer and Executive Manager for the National Health Service Standards (NHSS), Dr Goa Tau, said.
Health workers in every provinces should make attempts to keep their patients in the province and by that it is a good sign of improvement in health service delivery,” Dr Tau said.
“As much as possible, keep your people (patients) in Gulf Province, do not send them to Port Moresby,” he told health officials in the province.
The provincial health office and hospital should work together to strengthen health care system in the province and provincial government should chip in to fund areas where there are needs, Dr Tau said.
“Provincial government must come in a very big way to address health issues. If leaders in other centres can afford to help their health facilities in the country, how about Kerema?” he added.
Unless Provincial Government comes in, they are still going to have those issues of dilapidated health facilities, problems in transport systems and so forth leading to loss of lives.
The NHSS roll-out identified gaps within the provincial health system that must be brought to the attention of both the provincial health authorities and government, Dr Tua stressed.
The expert panel of the NDoH had identified that a notable thing that stood out amidst the worsening state of health facilities and the deteriorating system was the commitment of the hundred plus rural health workers.
Their commitment is unquestionable, team leader and Chief Pathologist Dr Seth Fose said.
Dr Fose thanked Oil Search Foundation in expanding its support to Gulf Province and leveraging public-private-partnership, hence enabling sharing of vital health information between the rural health staff and NDoH which could improve service delivery to an estimated population of 150,000 people in Gulf Province.