The new Waste Management Facility and Infectious Diseases Inpatient Unit at the ANGAU Memorial Provincial Hospital are now operational.
The facilities are part of the new infrastructure built under the hospital’s redevelopment, supported by the Papua New Guinea-Australia Partnership.
The new Waste Management Facility will lift the standard of operations and enable a safer, more hygienic process for waste removal and processing.
Better layout, process improvements and handling of hospital waste means a safer working environment for staff, and better outcomes for patients.
Waste Management Facility Officer in Charge, Po Sopyale, said the new upgraded facility was one of the essential components of the hospital and he is also thankful for Health and Safety Training provided to his team.
“This new facility is built to health standards and will make our work much easier and safer, especially in terms of loading waste onto dump trucks for disposal,” said Sopyale.
“It has a loading dock area where we can now easily push the wheelie bins and load onto a vehicle, whereas in the old facility, we struggled to lift the bins onto the vehicle and sometimes the waste fell onto us, which is very unhygienic.”
Hospital Manager, Concilia Amol, thanked the governments of Australia and Papua New Guinea for funding the redevelopment, and strongly urged staff to take ownership of the facilities and look after them well.
“Let’s use these new facilities with a changed mindset and approach to the way we normally do things at the old ward or building,” said Ms. Amol.
Australian High Commission representative, Elise Newton, expressed her appreciation to all who worked on the project, in particular the behind-the-scenes work of the hospital.
“No hospital would run properly without back-of-house and other enabling facilities like the Laundry, Stores, Kitchen, Waste Management Facility and Mortuary. These are all critical services, and an important part of the comprehensive approach that was taken to this redevelopment.
“Today is an important opportunity to acknowledge the importance and contribution of those non-clinical areas as well.”
A blessing ceremony was held recently to mark the opening of the new facilities, witnessed by representatives from the Morobe Provincial Health Authority, hospital staff, the Australian High Commission and the project delivery team.
The project is an example of the Papua New Guinea-Australia Partnership commitment to redevelop and strengthen healthcare in PNG.