MPHA facility ‘ready and available’

Forty state-of-the-art isolation units have been available for Morobe residents since May 2020.

The K4 million facility, which is located at 11-Mile, has catered to around 100 persons under investigation so far.

The COVID-19 isolation and quarantine facility at 11-Mile was an arrangement between the Health Department, the Morobe Provincial Health Authority and NKW.

NKW CEO, Marlen Brunskill, said the Health Department had requested for a facility to be built in Lae to take the pressure off ANGAU. Thirty-two rooms and eight staffing quarters were quickly built by NKW adjacent to its own 80-room isolation facility.

“The MPHA facility has been there, ready and available,” he stated. “We’ve kept the maintenance up-to-date; and the cleanliness. We had a spurt of COVID go through our company a couple months ago and yes, we did isolate a couple of people in there but that’s what the facility is for.”

The initial process to get persons under investigation checked into the facility starts with the MPHA, who send a request, in writing, to NKW. However, NKW CEO, Brunskill, said MPHA has been overlooked in the process as there has been no communication from them since the opening of the setup 10 months ago.

“From that point on, we’ve had to change the procedure a bit for the sake of efficiency of our operations,” he stated. “Once after we admit the candidates into the facility we then advise the MPHA that these people tested positive and are now occupying the facility.”

Dr Kipas Binga, when questioned on the matter, said he was not fully aware of the arrangement as he was the COVID-19 clinical lead of the province at that time.

“So because it was not directly with the office of the MoPHA, so when I took office, I did not fully understand as far as the payment obligations na kain olsem,” he stated.

“Now that there is a surge, that facility’s available for use but we haven’t olsem, go ful yet na yusim. Planti ol sikman blo mipla, of course, they’re treated at home.”

Dr Binga said the Health Department has an outstanding of about K2 million with NKW, that was why he was hesitant to use the 11-Mile facility as he was unsure who would foot the bill.

“We didn’t really wanna push them when there’s still an outstanding. That’s why it was really up to them.

“Quarantine em stap but ol nurses blo mipla, you cannot have them sleeping up there and coming down to work here. Em longpla rot tumas.”

(NKW CEO, Marlen Brunskill, speaking with Lae media after their tour of the isolation facility on Friday, March 9th)

Author: 
Carmella Gware