By RODRICK DESURI 

Auki 

A nurse has been found for the Sikaiana atolls of Malaita Outer Islands, and will be deployed once oriented and prepared for the task.

Sikaiana has gone one year without access to medical and health service after the last nurse on the atoll left in October last year.

Since then, people and provincial leader of Sikaiana have called on the national health/medical ministry and Malaita provincial health to send a nurse to the atoll.

Director of Nursing at Kilu’ufi Hospital, Richard Maegerea, in an interview with Island Sun Auki yesterday said a nurse has been found who is willing to go and serve in Sikaiana.

“Yes, the nurse who will be traveling to Sikaiana is on orientation. He has willingly decided to travel and serve at Sikaiana.

“After the orientation, the nurse should be deployed to Sikaiana and serve at the clinic,” he said.

He also emphasized that the nurse has to build his relationship with the people and cooperate with them.

“You have to build a relationship with people there. Cooperation and working together are vital when living in places like that,” he said. 

The lack of medical and health services on Sikaiana had reportedly affected other sectors such as education, food security and livelihoods.

Island Sun had reported earlier that teachers had left Sikaiana for Honiara, bringing their sick children or accompanying their loved ones who were sick, seeking medical attention in the capital.

This reportedly caused the only school on the island to be critically low on teacher numbers.

Prolonged sicknesses without proper medical care have left many families without abled-bodied members to find food from the land and sea to feed the family.

Photo: Thomas Sapivaka

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