Mendi General Hospital is among other district and provincial health facilities that lack personal protective equipment (PPE).
A member of the hospital’s COVID-19 response committee says they would like to also be armed with PPE, sanitisers and temperature scanners.
While he understands the global shortage of PPE at the moment, CEO of the Southern Highlands Provincial Health Authority Dr Joseph Birisi said they are concerned about personnel who are stationed at the provincial borders, because they need it the most at the moment.
“We received some supplies but they are coming slow because of the global shortage. We had some come through at the beginning of this month and mid-April, but it is not enough for our frontline health and security personnel. Southern Highlands has seven entry points manned by personnel and they are our major concern – they need the PPE,” Dr Birisi said.
Apart from the face masks and gloves, the province received some PPE like gowns, but this will be reserved for clinicians and those doing screening.
“The provincial government committed K500,000 to the Southern Highlands COVID-19 response team. We shared the funding with partner agencies, including the police. K200,000 was budgeted for PPE and we engaged suppliers to deliver to us,” Dr Birisi said.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have enough to distribute to all our district hospitals - Pimaga, Nipa and Ialibu. As I said, we are waiting to get more supplies, including hand sanitisers and thermometers.”
The SHP Provincial Health Authority has a COVID-19 response plan in place, and it covers facilities for screening and triaging.
Dr Birisi said one will be at the main Mendi General Hospital while others will be set up at strategic points, including the three district hospitals.
“We’d like to centralise triage and screening so as not to stretch the limited number of health workers that we have,” Dr Birisi said.
According to the latest situation report from the National Department of Health, Southern Highlands has a capacity of 275 health workers including doctors, health extension officers, nurses and community health workers.
“While facilities for screening and triaging are being constructed for Mendi General Hospital, we might use our existing health facilities for isolation and quarantine. That’s the long-term plan. We’re taking into consideration our challenges like road access, logistics, land access, lack of public facilities like stadiums, and importantly, our technical health team,” Dr Birisi stated.
Meantime, staff at the Mendi Hospital are doing their part to train and conduct awareness programs for other health workers on how to approach COVID-19.
One training they are also delivering is stress management, which they consider to be vital considering the impacts of COVID-19 on thousands of lives across the country, and the world.