Political upheaval scares off heart surgery team

PAPUA NEW GUINEA – An Australia-based medical charity has been forced to cancel a planned trip to Papua New Guinea this week due to a doctors’ strike and safety concerns, as political unrest continues in the country.

Open Heart International (OHI) sends a team of volunteers to the capital, Port Moresby, twice a year to assist in cardiac operations and to help local doctors and nurses maintain a cardiac surgery unit.

OHI general manager Michael Were told the ABC’s Pacific Beat the cancellation would affect about 15 children scheduled for heart operations, but the decision was made in part due to safety concerns for the volunteers.

“We’ve been in constant dialogue with our colleagues at Port Moresby General Hospital,” he said.

“Yesterday we made the decision in consultation with them that it was not in the interests of safety for our team to be in Port Moresby later this week.”

PNG’s National Security Advisory Council last week discussed a threat by anti-government forces to shut down essential services in a bid to force Prime Minister Peter O’Neill’s resignation.

The threat is led by a coalition of so-called “concerned citizens” including pilots, aviation workers, lawyers, and senior union members.

A vote of no confidence in O’Neill will be before Parliament on Friday.

On Monday, doctors joined the civil disobedience action, calling for O’Neill to face police questions over long-standing corruption allegations.

The secretary of the National Doctors Association, Sam Yockopua, said doctors had agreed to scale down their operations and attend only to medical emergencies.

“Normal consultation will be stopped – they will only have to deal with emergencies,” Dr Yockopua told Pacific Beat on Monday.

“So if the surgeons are, for example, on call or on duty, they will only do quick ward rounds and see unstable patients.”

In response, the government has vowed to use its emergency powers – including calling out police and soldiers to help maintain law and order in the capital, Port Moresby – to halt a national strike.

OHI’s Dr Were said it was disappointing to have to cancel the regular visit due to the elective care strike and potential unrest, but the 50-strong team from OHI was investigating possibly rescheduling for September.

“A lot of work has been involved for our volunteers, who have made commitments with their families, and also got time off from their hospitals and their employment,” he said.

“But at the end of the day, the safety of our team members is really, really important to us.”

OHI established its cardiac program with Papua New Guinea in 1993 when there was no local equivalent.

It said PNG nationals were now suitably qualified and trained in cardiac surgery and anaesthesia, making the Port Moresby General Hospital unit largely self-sufficient. - ABC