BY NED GAGAHE
Minister of Health and Medical Services Dr. Paul Bosawai says that the Naha Birthing and Urban Health Centre, once completed, will lessen and ease the burden at the National Referral Hospital.
Minister Bosawai, together with Australia’s Ambassador for Global Health Dr. Lucas de Toca, visited the centre yesterday during his official visit to the Solomon Islands. The delegation toured the construction works, which are employing nearly 100 local workers, as the building reaches the milestone of being halfway completed.
Minister Bosawai said he was impressed by the progress being made towards the new SBD 250m/AUD 45m health centre.
“The birthing facility center once completed, will lessen and ease the burden at the National Referral Hospital (NRH). The pressure on beds at the current birthing ward at NRH is always extremely high. There are 10 recovery beds in the labour ward. So, if the labour ward has about 18 deliveries per day on average, bed occupancy would, of course, become a huge challenge.
“In 2023, the bed occupancy rate was 126%. Given such challenging situations, mothers should stay at least 24 hours at the hospital upon delivery, but due to the lack of space, mothers are usually discharged eight hours after giving birth. This is very risky for both mothers and babies, as sometimes either the mothers or babies will develop other illnesses while at home. Space limitations at the NRH are a challenge, especially as the population grows at an annual rate of 2.8%.”
“Given the bigger catchment of population in East Honiara, this state-of-the-art birthing unit will accommodate the high demand for health services and provide high-quality service to the surrounding communities here, and the country as a whole,” said Dr. Bosawai.
He acknowledged and thanked the Australian Government for funding the multi-million-dollar project.
During the tour, the VIPs met with nursing staff and health officials to hear about the intensive health planning underway to ensure the centre is equipped and ready to commence service delivery when the facility opens.
Dr. de Toca, who oversees Australia’s regional and global development assistance in health, said the scale and quality of the building is impressive.
“I’m equally impressed by the level of partnership between Australia and Solomon Islands’ health officials to ensure the centre is fitted out with high-quality, fit-for-purpose equipment, with staff fully trained and ready to see patients when it opens early next year,” Dr. de Toca said.
“There is obviously a lot of hard work, care, and collaboration being undertaken by both governments, which will ultimately save lives and improve health outcomes for Solomon Islanders, particularly mothers and babies.”
Australia’s High Commissioner to Solomon Islands, His Excellency Rod Hilton, said the health centre remained a top priority for the Solomon Islands-Australia Partnership.
“What both our governments want is sustainable, high-quality care delivered every day to the people of Solomon Islands,” High Commissioner Hilton said.
“Australia understands the need to deliver this world-class health facility without cutting corners, to deliver high-quality, locally led, and fully fitted-out infrastructure that is built to last.”
The new facility includes a large urban health clinic and a low-risk birthing centre with five delivery suites, seventeen short-stay beds, an operating theatre, and clinical support services. The centre will provide birthing, ante and post-natal care services for women, as well as dental, pathology, x-ray, ultrasound, and pharmacy services for the community.
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