Hela hospital to be the best in 3 years, says Botten

​The Hela provincial Hospital is striving to be the best in the country within three years, says chairman of the board and Oil Search managing director Peter Botten.

However, he said this will require cooperation from all stakeholders and commitment, hard work and dedication from his team at the hospital in Tari.

Speaking during the farewell ceremony for the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) in Tari last Thursday, Botten sincerely thanked the MSF team for their significant contribution in saving thousands of Hela lives over the eight years that they had been in the province.

The MSF were providing a range of services to what was then the Tari hospital, before it was upgraded to a level five provincial hospital, following Hela becoming a province. The MSF had announced that they were leaving Hela after Tari hospital was upgraded to the Level 5 Hela Provincial Hospital.

Botten said Thursday March 31st, 2016, was a sad day for Hela because the MSF was leaving.

However, he said their departure also provided an opportunity for Hela to stand up and do something for themselves.

“We now not only have to take over the surgical wards of MSF, we also have to take over and improve and lift the game to be a regional provincial hospital. That takes work; that takes rebuilding the capacity of the hospital, rebuilding the capacity of all our staff, making sure that they are trained properly, making sure they get the appropriate opportunity to build and grow their skills.

“Making sure that we are taking on the responsibilities of what I want this hospital to be the best hospital in three years’ time,’’ Botten said.

“Talk is easy, cheap – very easy for me to say that, but I’m relying on you, the new leadership team, and the new people coming in as well as you to make it happen.

“It will be hard work, and we will not achieve something quickly. It will take a number of months for all our people to arrive, to replace MSF, all our new leadership team, the directors to be appointed, all appointments below to be confirmed, it will take a number of months, but you have our commitment – my commitment, Oil Search’s commitment through the Oil Search Foundation to help along with our partners, you to achieve the effective best hospital in PNG in three years’ time.

“With that will come more expectations though, we will be helping you, we want to make sure the numbers are right, we want to make sure we provide the best possible service to our customers, who are our patients.’’

The farewell ceremony was attended by the members of the MSF team, private sector representatives and public servants.



(Some Members of the Hela Provincial Hospital Authority board with hospital staff on the day the MSF departed Hela. Picture: Oil Search Ltd)

Press Release