DEAR EDITOR, two separate news reports published this week in the Island Sun newspaper, both related to local health issues, were praiseworthy and justify comment.
The first report made reference to the Solomon Islands PNG Association having generously handed over medical equipment to the National Referral Hospital (NRH) worth over S50, 000.
The equipment comprised an ECG machine and a Suction machine, both items especially useful to the NRH.
The money needed to purchase the equipment was said to have been raised following an appeal by the Solomon Islands PNG Association on the occasion of Solomon Islands 40th Independence anniversary.
To all the people and organizations in PNG that contributed to the appeal I would like to express my personal thanks and say I very much appreciate the donated medical equipment now in practical use at the NRH.
The other piece of news I found particularly encouraging was the report which related to a health team that had undergone specialist health training in order to better respond to disasters.
Quoting from the Island Sun article it said:
“Solomon Islands now have its own Emergency Medical Team to respond to outbreaks, natural disasters and other health emergencies.
“Known as SOLMART, a group of health professionals have undergone a weeklong training that is locally structured to suit the needs of Solomon Islanders.
“Speaking to Island Sun during the professionals training, Dr. Nemia Bainivalu, Supervising Undersecretary Health Improvement said, the names of health personnel will now be entered into a database whereby they can be able to respond to emergency situations should the need arise.
“Dr. Bainivalu said from the database, they will also identify those that can be trained in specialised areas to further enhance their capacity”.
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
