Prime Minister James Marape has announced significant progress in the health sector of Papua New Guinea since taking office in 2019, especially developments in the areas of cardiac health and cancer facilities.
He said when his government took office in 2019, one of their pronouncements was that by 2025, they should not export PNG patients seeking heart, cancer and other specialist care overseas and since then, the National Department of Health (NDoH) has been partnering Kumul Petroleum Holdings Ltd (KPHL), utilizing their ten percent community service funds, and today, Port Moresby heart facilities are at almost top function.
When providing an update on the Cardiac Center, PM Marape made known that 2, 300 angiograms have been completed since a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in August 2020.
Three hundred and fifty Stenting Procedures have been completed since 2020, of which seventy percent were male and thirty percent, female.
“These people were saved from potential stroke or heart attack by detecting early and treating them. Fifty percent of the Angiogram and Stenting are professionals with economic value from the ages of 40-50, at the peak of their contributions to the nation.”
“Children now don’t have to wait for Operation Open Heart (OOH) for Open Heart Operations to be carried out. Our doctors are saving lives through Nonintrusive Surgery, plus preventing the operations scare for children that could potentially amount to self-esteem related issues,” he said.
He also highlighted that Port Moresby General Hospital is currently installing the CathLAB equipment, purchased under KPHL MoU for K5 million, in which there will be two CathLAB machines that can be able to serve more Papua New Guineans.
“The cardiac patients could have paid a minimum of K100, 000 to receive the treatment overseas, excluding associated costs, stress, pressure on family, and so on. We saved the nation K130 million, plus the lives of Papua New Guineans, and some of these are very important people for our country.”
“As a result of KPHL intervention to PNG Government decision, we now have reduced OOH visits to only eight. Prior to KPHL MoU, we had sixty Operation Open Heart Team visits to PNG. A lot of Papua New Guinean doctors are being trained at the same time under the KPHL MoU for Cardiologists at PMGH, as a result of KPHL-PNG Government investment.”
In addition, PMGH Cardiac Service has been awarded the Asian Cardiology Association Award in Dubai (UAE) for the ground-breaking Non-Intrusive Surgery, thanks to KPHL-PNG Government investment. The Master Plan for PMGH is developed to align all services and teaching with the new facilities.
“We are now working with UPNG Medical School, PMGH, NDoH and all stakeholders to ensure standards. As soon as that is clear, we will start the construction.”
“For the Heart Facility, we are now getting patients from various parts of the Pacific Region, so Medical Tourism can grow here. On top of that, very soon both PMGH (Port Moresby, NCD) and Angau (Lae, Morobe) Cancer Facilities will become operational.”