Minister warns health staff

 FURTHER action will be taken if health workers, including staff at the Goroka Provincial Hospital, fail to return to work, Health and HIV/AIDS Minister Michael Malabag says. 
He said the Committee of Inquiry (COI) found that the Eastern Highlands Provincial Health Authority board and management was properly constituted and had been performing its functions in accordance with its mandate under the Provincial Health Authorities Act 2007. 
“There has not been any gross breakdown in the administration of the provincial authority,” he said.
He said the inquiry found that there had been a breakdown in communication between the provincial health authority management and staff at the hospital. 
“I endorse the findings of the inquiry and have confidence in the Provincial Health Authority board and the management team,” he said 
“The management of the hospital and its staff is the responsibility of the Provincial Health Authority management under the guidance of the board. I urge them all to resolve the escalating situation at the hospital without delay and call on all staff, including doctors and nurses, to return to work. 
“Current issues at the hospital are not an industrial matter. The issues are management concerns that the Provincial Health Authority board and management have full authority to manage.  
“It is my advice to the board that they reinstate the terminated officers in their substantive positions. In the interests of the health of the province, services at the hospital must return to normal. 
“I urge the public to support the health workers as they continue to deliver much-needed services to our people.”
Malabag said he would not let services at the hospital continue to be disrupted but did not elaborate what action would be taken against the striking nurses, doctors and other staff at the hospital. 
“If the situation continues to be unresolved, I will not hesitate to take further action,” he said. The National