Prime Minister slams bid for super hospital

PRIME Minister Sir Michael Somare has slammed the proposed new K500 million super hospital being pushed by Health Minister Sasa Zibe, The National reports.

The hospital has the backing of Zibe and Planning Minister Paul Tiensten.

But the prime minister had directed that no more public funds be used to pay for the Pacific Medical Centre project.

He directed Zibe to redirect any funds committed to improving the provision of current public health services.

The proposed hospital had become political and a topic of debate among respected figures in the medical fraternity.

It was suggested in a paid newspaper advertisement last Friday that the prime minister had met and spoke to former US president Bill Clinton about the project in New York last year and both men were keen to see it get off the ground.

But, Sir Michael said in an Oct 20, 2010, letter to Zibe that he was not convinced about the usefulness of the project.

“The irony of the whole issue is that the national government cannot even maintain, at a respectable and physical level, the current hospitals and health facilities,” the prime minister stated in the letter.

“This is compounded by the fact that the national government cannot effectively deliver basic health services, let alone guarantee the supply of basic drugs to the public.

“And, yet, we want to build a new 300-bed international hospital?”

The prime minister said referral hospitals, provincial hospitals, district health centres and medical posts were currently in shameful dilapidated states.

“Basic drugs cannot be assured and delivered to these hospitals and health institutions and, yet, the national government wants to spend millions of kina on this project that has questionable value to our general populace.

“I am not convinced of the usefulness of this Pacific Medical Centre project at this stage.”

He said his office had gone through the submission and had found that the accompanying documents were “sugar coated” with the intention to deceive cabinet members to support the project.

He said many local and US/global partners, mentioned in the accompanying documentation as supporting the project, had since disclaimed their interests.