Plan on Nonga refuted

By PORENI UMAU

THE National Department of Health's plan to downgrade Nonga Base Hospital to a district hospital has attracted opposition from senior staff.
Nonga Base Hospital in East New Britain Province was once a premier health service provider until it was left to falter into its current sorry state after the volcano eruption in 1994.
Since then, no better deal came its way and authorities responsibile to see to its well being turned a blind eye as plans for a new hospital at a central location were pursued.
The announcement by the Health Secretary Pascoe Kase last week to downgrade Nonga Base Hospital to a district hospital standard was not welcomed by the staff.
Mr Kase's revealation came following this newspaper's report of the hospital's current very sad and shameful state, explainaing why Nonga Base Hospital was not given the attention it deserved, like any other provincial hospital throughout the country.
But his explanation was met with protest by senior officers who wish to remain annonymous, questioning where all specialist services would be moved to.
The senior officers said that what needs to be done was to maintain Nonga Base Hospital and keep it in order to an extent where only specialist services would be accommodated and other services transferred to Vunapope and other health centres.
They said that Mr Kase should do a thorough research, come down and consult the provincial government and hospital board before any decision could be made.
"He must come down to the ground, here at Nonga and see it himself," they said.