NRH doctors not walking out for good: Dr Malefoasi

Doctors working at the National Referral Hospital (NRH) who reportedly walked out from official duties are coming back to work.

This is according to the NRH Chief Executive Dr George Malefoasi who said the doctors are not walking out for good but decide to stay out of work. 

“There was no deliberate walk out, they just don’t come back to work, I think it is their right as well. 

“I gave them a message to come back to work, and they are coming back to work with clear details of what is going to happen,” Dr Malefoasi said.

Speaking in a recent media conference, Dr Malefoasi said, the doctors were given the opportunity to decide on what they wanted to think about it.

He confirmed that the doctors decided not to attend work because of the mandatory ‘No jab, No Job’ policy circulated by the national government earlier this month. 

He said these doctors refused to get vaccinated based on personal reasons.

“Obvious ones were due to their own religious reasons and their own scientific knowledge about DNA.

“Majority of the doctors that were walked out are young doctors and not those in key positions to make diagnoses, case management, etc. 

“We have the details of these doctors and we know their personal strength,” Dr Malefoasi said.

He also told journalists that most departments’ heads and specialists at NRH have been vaccinated.   

“Of the 95 doctors working on core major service departments like surgery, pediatrics and mental health, 17 are yet to be vaccinated while 78 have been fully vaccinated.”

He said out of 668 staff at NRH, 508 of them were fully vaccinated while those that haven’t will be having their vaccination.   

Advisor to the Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS) Dr Yogesh Choudri said 66 percent of the MHMS staff have received their first doses, and 43.7 have completed their two doses of COVID-19 vaccines.

Dr Choudri said, similar to health care workers globally, the health care workers in Solomon Islands did an amazing job on handling the 20 COVID-19 cases in the country. 

He added NRH doctors walked out because there are a lot of misconceptions and myths about COVID-19 vaccines due to so much science behind it and the information, scientific articles that were coming out in the media. 

“Maybe they don’t have comprehensive knowledge about the whole vaccine issue, that is why we depend on WHO [World Health Organisation]  and UNICEF [United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund] to guide us.

“I think it’s time that we sit down with them more, and avail a good scientific argument about it, clear some of the myths that are happening,” Dr Choudri said. 

by Jared Koli