Madang Provincial Hospital described as a cemetery

The Madang Provincial Hospital has been described as a "cemetery" and not a place where sick people can go to and get well.

"It is a place where you go and die," says James Yali; a former Madang governor.

The Madang Provincial Hospital has been faced with a number of critical issues in recent times; one of which is the lack of proper ablution facilities [including toilets].

The most obvious, of course; is the lack of drugs, right down to the very basics like panadol and amoxcycillin. Almost all patients are issued prescriptions to buy medicine from the pharmacies in town.

Yali said the situation at the Madang Provincial Hospital has gone from bad to worse.

"Patients are being sent away because they can't be looked after at the hospital. There is no medicine. Some go and die at home. There are not enough beds for patients, and some patients sleep on the floor. The hospital can't admit patients. It is in disarray.

The toilets stink with rubbish all over the floor. You literally walk on rubbish, and it is very unhygienic, not for the patients only but also the doctors and nurses as they can get infected," Yali added.

Currently, there is only one functional toilet that all inpatients use. The rest are closed and in need of urgent repair and maintenance.

Yali's appeal to the Board of the Madang Provincial Health Authority, the Secretary and Minister for Health, and the Governor for Madang, Ramsey Pariwa, is to restore the hospital.

He said, "You must address the issues which have allowed the hospital to deteriorate."

Yali claimed that he has had two relatives who were referred from Raikos to the provincial hospital for treatment but were sent away because the hospital couldn't treat them. He revealed that both have died.

The frustrated, outspoken leader said he personally spoke with the PHA board chairman, Dr Boga Figa sometime ago and was told they got a bit of money and will improve the situation.

Meanwhile, Deputy Board Chairman of Madang PHA, Young Wadau, shares the same concern as Mr Yali in calling for swift action to improve the situation at the provincial hospital.