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02 Jul 2010 Additional gas cylinders for Weathercoast clinics [Solomon Star] World Vision has donated 11 gas cylinders to Guadalcanal Province's health department for the clinics on the Weathercoast. Gas is used to power refrigerators to keep vaccines cool. So far, the clinics had only one cylinder and whenever it was empty the freezer stopped working while the cylinder was away to be refilled in Honiara. 
02 Jul 2010 Taiwanese team to run medical workshops [Solomon Star] A doctor and four medical students from the Kaohsiung Medical University (KMU) in Taiwan are currently in the country to promote public hygiene and and women's health care. They will run several workshops for disease prevention at the National Referral Hospital in Honiara and a one-week workshop at one local primary school for personal and environmental hygiene. The team will be here for one month.
06 Jul 2010 Funds for Atoifi Hospital [Solomon Star] During a fundraising concert for Atoifi Hospital (Malaita Province), the Solomon Islands Government pledged SBD 50,000 (in addition to this year's contribution of more than SBD 150,000 for the School of Nursing) and the Malaita Government SBD 20,000. The funds will be used to buy new equipment and refurbish some of the buildings. Atoifi Hospital and the associated School of Nursing are administered by the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
08 Jul 2010 Introducing Tippy Taps to Solomon Islands [Solomon Star] Soroptimist International, Solomon Islands, has introduced Tippy Taps to Solomon Islands to promote hand-washing. Tippy Taps are simple and economical setups made from recycled material to wash hands with very little water (see pdf document [660KB] from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). The first Tippy Taps were built in Zimbabwe using gourds.
15 Jul 2010 Suspected whooping cough cases at NRH [Solomon Star] Four infants between one and five months of age with typical symptoms have been treated for whooping cough at the children ward of the National Referral Hospital in Honiara in the past three weeks. One infant is still at the children's ward for observation while the others have been discharged. Blood samples have been sent Australia for confirmation and results are expected to be available in about four weeks. These would be the first cases of whooping cough after many years.
22 Jul 2010 Second dispensary window at NRH [Solomon Star] The National Referral Hospital in Honiara now has a second dispensary window. It is used to hand out medications for infants and the elderly and, together with an increase in staff, has significantly reduced the waiting time for those and other patients. According to a letter to the editor of Solomon Star, such a second window was proposed by managers of the pharmacy already ten years ago.
23 Jul 2010 More beds for NRH [Solomon Star] The Health Department of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Solomon Islands, assisted by the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) has donated 14 beds and 16 mattresses to the National Referral Hospital in Honiara. The beds will be distributed to the medical, postnatal and children's wards.
27 Jul 2010 New on our web site Another filled in questionnaire: FS1002.
28 Jul 2010 Honiara children clinic opened [Solomon Star] The Honiara children clinic has finally been completed and officially opened. Starting next week, the clinic will initially be open for eight hours a day (Monday to Friday), but next year it should be open 24 hours. Ten staff have been allocated to the clinic.
29 Jul 2010 Australian medical team visits Solomon Islands [Solomon Times] Currently, an Australian ENT (ear, nose and throat) team is visiting Solomon Islands to perform surgical operations, speech pathology and audiology examinations. Last week they have been working at the National Referral Hospital in Honiara and this week at Gizo Hospital. The team members are volunteers; travel expenses and accommodation are covered by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) and AusAID as part of the Pacific Islands Project. More such teams are expected to visit Solomon Islands later this year: a neurosurgery team in August and a pediatric and a radiology team in November.
31 Jul 2010 Australian High Commission staff donate blood [SIBC News] The office staff of the Australian High Commission in Honiara have donated blood to the blood bank at the National Referral Hospital in Honiara, which is always looking for donors.
02 Aug 2010 Loloma Foundation team to visit soon [Solomon Star] An 18-member medical team from Loloma Foundation will offer free medical services at Gizo Hospital (Western Province) from September 1 to 11. They will bring along donated medical supplies worth USD 1.5 million for the National Referral Hospital in Honiara, Gizo Hospital and some island clinics.
07 Aug 2010 Crutches for the hospitals [Solomon Star] As part of a rehabilitation program of the Correctional Service of Solomon Islands (CSSI), prisoners at the Rove Correction Center in Honiara are making (wooden) crutches for the National Referral Hospital (NRH) in Honiara, Kilu'ufi Hospital in the Malaita Province and Lata Hospital in the Temotu Province. More than 70 sets were made for the National Referral Hospital in Honiara since 2008. The production is limited due to the lack of a joinery workshop and a limited supply of materials.
10 Aug 2010 Parasite screening program continued [Island Sun] A five member medical team from Taiwan is here for a few days to continue the parasite screening program started in May and followed up in November last year. Together with the leader of the Taiwan Health Center at the National Referral Hospital in Honiara, the team will again visit schools and villages to check up on the prevalence of infections with intestinal parasites. Furthermore, they will prepare a management plan for the treatment and the necessary education to reduce and eventually eradicate those infections. They will also hold a workshop for doctors at the National Referral Hospital in Honiara about diagnosis and management of intestinal parasites.
10 Aug 2010 Worth reading An Australian soldier is helping out at the National Referral Hospital in Honiara. Jeremy Pearce - Wollongong Warrior published in Solomon Star (News, Tuesday, 10 August 2010).
11 Aug 2010 Second whooping cough test [Solomon Star] After the first whooping cough test turned out to be negative, blood samples taken two weeks after the first have been sent to Australia again for a confirmation test.
12 Aug 2010 New on our web site Another report written by Dr Alex Bradley Munamua: Being Super In Your Own Way. A pdf version is available here.
13 Aug 2010 Miss Solomon Airlines donates blood [Solomon Star] Miss Solomon Airlines, Simaema Nielsen, has donated blood to the blood bank at the National Referral Hospital in Honiara. Currently, the blood bank receives between two and six donations a day, however, some 15 to 20 donations would be needed to meet the demand.
8 Sep 2010 New on our web site Another filled in questionnaire: FS1003.
9 Sep 2010 No doctor at Atoifi Hospital [SIBC News] Atoifi Hospital (Malaita Province) is currently without a doctor. The last doctor reportedly left six weeks ago.
12 Sep 2010 No doctor at Tulagi Hospital [SIBC News] Tulagi Hospital (Central Province) is currently without a doctor (who is also Provincial Health Director), too.
12 Sep 2010 Visit of Loloma Foundation team [SIBC News] As announced earlier, a Loloma Foundation medical team has visited the Western Province in the past two weeks. See the foundation's blog for some more information. Two members of the team visit Atoifi Hospital today. The foundation plans a medical tour in Malaita Province in March 2011.
22 Sep 2010 Workshop for nursing care of maternal women and neonates [SIBC News, Island Sun] Six visiting health professionals at the Taiwan Health Center at the National Referral Hospital in Honiara are conducting a two-day workshop for nurses and midwives to help reduce the death at birth rate. The participants are 15 final year students at the Solomon Islands College of Higher Education (SICHE) Nursing School, 15 registered nurses and more than 20 midwives. Current death rates are about 100/100,000 women giving birth and about 40/1,000 newborns. About 80% of the deliveries take place in the provinces.
28 Sep 2010 Sexual and reproductive health resource center for children [Solomon Times] Save the Children Solomon Islands will open a new sexual and reproductive health resource center in Honiara today. Ir will be used to educate children aged from 10 to 16 years including those who do not attend school. More details on the program can be found here.
01 Oct 2010 New on our web site Another filled in questionnaire: FS1004.
04 Oct 2010 New on our web site A new book on our books page: Reef and Rainforest by Michael McCoy
05 Oct 2010 Three hospitals declared baby-friendly [Solomon Star] Gizo Hospital, Helena Goldie Hospital (both Western Province) and Taro Hospital (Choiseul Province) have received an UNICEF award for being baby-friendly as defined in UNICEF's Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative.
07 Oct 2010 Tamboko Health Clinic reopened [RA News] Tamboko Health Clinic in northwest Guadalcanal will be officially reopened today. It was destroyed by floods last year and has been rebuilt with funds provided by AusAID.
12 Oct 2010 20 maternal deaths in 2009 [Solomon Star] 20 maternal deaths have been reported last year (seven of them at the National Referral Hospital in Honiara and four each in Guadalcanal, Western and Malaita provinces). About 75% of the deaths are said to be caused by obstetric complications the remaining ones are due to diseases (e.g. malaria, hepatitis, TB and HIV/AIDS).
20 Oct 2010 New on our web site Another report written by Dr Alex Bradley Munamua: Report for Swiss Fellowship Training Trip 2010. A pdf version is available here.
20 Oct 2010 Medical staff houses in Gizo completed [Solomon Star] Except for the installation of water tanks, the construction of 10 new staff houses (each with three bedrooms) on the old Gizo Hospital compound has been completed. The houses were funded by Australia. The construction of the new hospital is progressing well.
21 Oct 2010 New on our web site Another filled in questionnaire: FS1005.
26 Oct 2010 Cancer in Solomon Islands [Solomon Star] From 2004 to 2008, 865 cases of cancer (529 in women and 336 in men) have been recorded at the National Referral Hospital in Honiara. Ranking of most frequent cancers
28 Oct 2010 New nurses [Island Sun] 46 nurses have received their certificates of registration after successfully completing their probation periods. 12 of the nurses have been trained at Atoifi Adventist College of Nursing in Malaita and 34 at the Solomon Islands College of Higher Education (SICHE) Nursing School in Honiara. The nurses will be posted to hospitals and clinics throughout the country. Earlier this year, some 45 local nurses have left Solomon Islands to take up better paid jobs in Vanuatu.
28 Oct 2010 Kirakira Hospital needs more staff and facilities [SIBC News] According to the hospital secretary of Kira Kira Hospital (Makira Ulawa Province), an increasing number of patients are referred to the Kirakira Hospital. To take care of those patients, the hospital should have a second doctor, more nurses (most have been deployed to clinics throughout the province, and only a few are working at the hospital) more beds and more staff houses.
01 Nov 2010 Aid Post for Ngari [SIBC News] A new Aid Post, funded by the Rotary Club of Glass House Mountains, Australia, was officially opened at Ngari at the western end of Gizo (Western Province) last week. The building has an admission room, a delivery room, a pharmacy and an office.
01 Nov 2010 Mini-Hospital for Marau [Solomon Star] The owner of Tavanipupu Resort will fund the construction of a mini-hospital to complement the Marau Clinic and a jetty at Marau Sound in east Guadalcanal. The jetty will ease the transportation of construction material and is almost completed. The construction of the mini-hospital, which will serve about 15,000 people, is expected to start around February next year. The old Marau Clinic was burnt down during the ethnic tension and due to lack of funds was just temporarily rebuilt with locally available material. Finally, the clinic was renovated earlier this year, thanks to a donation of about SBD 120,000 by two Australian doctors.
04 Nov 2010 Acute Care Ward at NRH [Island Sun] Thanks to donations from various parties, the National Referral Hospital in Honiara now has an Acute Care Ward located with the extension of the Medical Ward. There is space for two patients, possibly three in the future.
09 Nov 2010 Malaita Medical Training Institute [Island Sun] Construction of the Malaita Medical Training Institute at Kilu'ufi started last week. It is located behind the Kilu'ufi Hospital compound. Total costs of about SBD 1 million are funded by UNDP. Once finished, the institute will start to offer general medical training and later add special training for doctors.
09 Nov 2010 Open letter to the Dentist Director [Solomon Star] A Solomon Star reader is not very happy with the services offered at the Dental Clinic at the National Referral Hospital in Honiara. Dentist Director- what is wrong? published in Solomon Star (Viewpoint, Letters to the Editor, Tuesday, 09 August 2010). Solomon Star has published a similar complaint in its News section on Tuesday, 02 November 2010: Concern over poor dental service.
10 Nov 2010 Growing population [Solomon Star] From 1999 to 2009, Solomon Islands' population increased by 26%.
16 Nov 2010 Training for Hospital Secretary [Solomon Star] The Hospital Secretary at the National Referral Hospital in Honiara has attended a two and a half week workshop on Health Management in Taiwan. He had been invited by the Government of Taiwan together with 23 participants from other countries.
24 Nov 2010 New Zealand medical team visits NRH [RNZI News, Solomon Star] A five-member medical team from the Starship Hospital in Auckland, New Zealand, has visited the National Referral Hospital in Honiara to perform surgery on congenital malformations. They saw more than 50 patients and performed 19 operations (most of them urinary tract and also anorectal abnormalities). The visit was coordinated by the Royal Australian College of Surgeons and funded by AUSAid.
26 Nov 2010 Health Clinic for police [SIBC News, Solomon Star] A new health clinic has been officially opened at Rove today. Except for emergency cases, the clinic will mainly be used to assess the health and fitness of local police officers. Funds for the health clinic and other new police buildings have been provided by the Australian and New Zealand governments.
27 Nov 2010 Worth reading The head of the University of Papua New Guinea's medical school, where some of the local doctors are trained, says the Solomon Islands Government should do more to keep its local qualified doctors. Gov't told to keep doctors published in Solomon Star (News, National, Saturday, 27 November 2010).
02 Dec 2010 Nurse shortage at NRH [Solomon Star, RNZI News] According to surgeons at the National Referral Hospital in Honiara, many operations have to be postponed, because there are not enough theater nurses available. NRH has only 17 theater nurses for all three shifts. The Ministry of Health says the shortage is not restricted to theater nurses, NRH currently has some 200 nurses but may actually need some 350.
07 Dec 2010 Medical supplies for Malaita [Solomon Star] Medical Aid Abroad New Zealand Inc. has donated 103 boxes of medical supplies worth about SBD 90,000 to Malu'u Clinic and four other clinics in the North Malaita constituency.
07 Dec 2010 New doctors for Solomon Islands [Solomon Star] Three local medical students have completed their study at the Fiji School of Medicine and graduated with Bachelors of Medicine and Surgery. They will start their internship at the National Referral Hospital in Honiara next year. Furthermore, one doctor has obtained a Masters in Internal Medicine, another one a Postgraduate Diploma in Gynecology and Obstetrics, and a third one a Masters in the same filed.
08 Dec 2010 HIV/AIDS in Solomon Islands [Solomon Star] Solomon Islands has recorded two new HIV/AIDS cases, increasing the total to 15. Six of the patients have died, seven are on treatment and two (the new cases) are being monitored.
11 Dec 2010 Worth reading The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Medical Services, Dr Lester Ross, comments on the nurse shortage. Financial restrictions are an important part of the problem. Nursing shortage published in Solomon Star (Viewpoint, Letters to the Editor, Saturday, 11 December 2010).
According to last year's reader poll, only ten visitors would miss this news page if it was discontinued. Therefore, as of January 1, 2011, no more summaries of local news will be published. If you want to keep up with local news, visit one or more of the news sources listed here.
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