By RODRICK DESURI
Auki
People in the rural community of Lau Baelelea constituency, Malaita Province, are facing a tough life in terms of accessing health care after a registered nurse left the Afenakwai clinic in 2023.
This has left sick patients, especially elderly, mothers and children to walk for nearly eight kilometres to get medical treatment at nearby clinics.
A resident near Afenakwai clinic, Wilson Sifoinao said the clinic is now served by a medical professional on a voluntary basis.
He said that although the medical professional is there, the people really need a registered nurse to serve them and for medical treatments to be available at the clinic.
“The Afenakwai clinic was closed in 2023. When we have an urgent sick patient, a medical professional living here can come and serve at the clinic.
“He just works on a volunteer basis. So sometimes he can work, and sometimes he cannot. Therefore, we need a registered nurse to come and serve us,” he said.
He said accessing medical treatment from nearby clinics is very expensive, and they have to walk seven or eight kilometres to reach the clinic.
“So, if we want to access good medical treatments, we have to walk for seven to eight kilometres or hire a truck, which is very costly,” he added.
He calls on responsible authorities to urgently address this issue.
“I call on the responsible authority to urgently address our issues. Also, we have faced a shortage of medicine at the clinic, so now we are suffering.
“I urge the Ministry of Health to improve the supply and distribution of medicine to clinics and take immediate action to ensure that our people receive the right treatments,” he said.
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