RDU magazine online

MAILBOX

Kokoda Hospital gets good report from GP

I visited the Kokoda Memorial Hospital on Sunday, August 29, and was very pleased with what I saw. I had helped with the construction of this hospital in 1995 and, of course, didn’t see the finished product, but did come home with very fond memories of the area.

Nine years later this magnificent memorial to many things, including international goodwill, looks immaculate. It appears to have been very well-maintained, looking neat and attractive.

A number of in-patients were being cared for by a uniformed nurse and there was a staff member in reception attending to an outpatient.

Sister Margaret is the senior nurse for this hospital, the director of nursing if you like, and was in her house next to the hospital. She showed me around.

I last saw her when she came to Yarrawonga, Vic., for six weeks of work experience and cultural exchange in 1996 as a guest of the Rotary Club of Yarrawonga-Mulwala. My family was honoured to have her stay in our home. This was all a part of the bridge building.

Above: Sister Margaret and a staff member at the Kokoda Memorial Hospital in Papua New Guinea.

Below: The hospital when visited by a Rotary Down Under reader.

The Kokoda Memorial Hospital is located in a remote rural area and appears to serve its community well, in the context of what is possible in a developing nation. Standards and expectations are different from those in Australia.

Rotary undertook to build a hospital and handed it over to the Papua New Guinean Government to manage. If there are deficiencies in staffing, equipment and service in general, then perhaps Rotary might support the Government in the fulfilment of its responsibilities, bearing in mind that there are a lot of under-resourced hospitals in Papua New Guinea, and the world in general.

I would like to see the Kokoda Memorial Hospital as a showpiece and I am sure that Rotary can assist, but we would be unwise to take on responsibility for recurrent expenditure.

To Gary Batchelor (Mailbox, June, 2004) – As you have suggested I have taken a “closer look” and would like to spend some more time there. Sister Margaret is not the only nurse at the hospital and although she is responsible for the Kokoda district, she is by no means responsible for Oro Province, which is quite large.

I hold a wishlist of 23 items that she forwarded to my travelling companion Rotarian George Friend. It includes basics such as sterile gloves, syringes and stethoscopes.

To Past President Ken Phelan (Mailbox, August, 2004) – Things are probably worse in other facilities in Papua New Guinea. The building itself is excellent. Perhaps Rotary (RAWCS), the Commonwealth of Australia (through AusAid) and the Papua New Guinean Government could jointly lift service provision.
To District 9710 Past Governor Ian Sayers, (Mailbox, September, 2004) – The transfer of skills is important and should flow from building bridges of international goodwill. Sister Margaret visited Yarrawonga for training and I would like to return to Kokoda for more time than I had on this occasion.
Why was I in Kokoda? I accompanied 14 WW2 veterans to a memorial service at Isurava, along with a large contingent of kin- folk and interested persons.

The veterans were aged in their mid-eighties, some of whom would have been in the same 39th Battalion as the modest Ken Phelan who fought with courage and valour in this area, particularly around Kokoda and Isurava.

The kinfolk get younger, fitter and more enthusiastic. As time passes we will see many more visitors from Australia to this sacred ground.

Doctor Clyde Ronan
Rotary Club of Yarrawonga–Mulwala, Vic.