A total of six medical doctors had the privilege to learn a new set of skills as they battle to overcome isolation by setting up HF radio connections for their clinics.
Doctor Cinderella Gaso was amongst the group that took part in the two-week course held at the Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) Technologies training center in Goroka, Eastern Highlands Province, to learn solar and high frequency radio installation as well as basic troubleshooting of technical issues.
She has spent the last nine years working between the remote Kairiku and Goilala districts in Central Province and has faced the issues that many rural hospitals and health centers face which is the lack of communication systems and technical expertise.
“Coming here and becoming more hands-on has been beneficial for me because the training bridges many gaps that I’ve had to face in my nine years of practice.”
“I’ve travelled to many isolated health centers and noticed the main issues faced were lack of communication system, no proper power supply and other technical issues that can be addressed.”
She emphasized that training like this is important to them because there is a great need for technical assistance in remote district hospitals in order to keep the facilities operating.
“As for many rural hospitals, we do not have the luxury of having technicians, electricians, or even plumbers to care for the medical systems, which is something many rural hospitals lack.”
“Such abilities gained from this training are important to us doctors since they will allow us to instruct other medical officers at our rural hospitals to address basic technical issues on our own.”
Also taking part in the two-week course was, Doctor Micah Misivet, another participant from Warangoi rural hospital in Pomio, East New Britain Province, who expressed how glad he was that the training involved more than just the basics of solar and HF radio systems.
“I had no idea there was more to it; I’ve gained a lot merely understanding the physics of radio and solar systems.”
“I now understand why using an HF radio and proper solar systems are more vital while being situated in remote areas.”
Meanwhile, MAF Technologies Workshop Manager, Lukas Schadegg, stated that the training, with the rural medicine program of the PNG Society of Rural and Remote Health, was a success because the participants began with the fundamentals of electronics and then had to complete the course of building an HF Radio with solar installations on their own.
“With zero experience on HF radio and solar systems, yet they demonstrated an impressive result of successfully completing the installation course.”
Lukas further commended the trainees and coordinator, Doctor David Mills for providing them the opportunity to acquire such significant training which is recognized as a way forward in bringing health services to rural areas of PNG.
Apart from the medical doctors, other attendees were technical officers from the Eastern Highlands Provincial Health Authority (EHPHA), officers from the New Tribes Mission (NTM), and MAF Technologies’ own radio tech trainees.