BY LIONEL TAORAO/ ISLES MEDIA FREELANCE REPORTER
The newly established second medical store on Ulawa Island in the Makira Ulawa Province was broken into and burgled by youths.
The Officer in charge of Ulawa’s second medical store at Taheramo, Mr Rolland Wakio reported to the Taheramo Area Health Centre committee that the intruders have broken into the pharmacy room and had removed quite a number of supplies including medicines and catheters.
He also adds that they have also vandalised doors of the building by inserting midribs into the keyholes making it hard to open and lock the doors.
The Nurse in charge at Taheramo Area Health Centre, Mrs Angela Teku also reported that her clinic too was broken into and intruders also removed some medicines and other medical supplies including an Oxygen Saturation Machine which she claimed to be the only such machine available on Ulawa Island.
“The incident happened in the recent weeks where some boys who are from nearby communities came at night and went into the building and remove medicines and other clinical accessories including an Oxygen Saturation Machine which is the only one we have here on Ulawa and two mattresses”, the Nurse in charge says.
Meanwhile, Taheramo clinic committee Chairman, Mr Godfrey Sautehi said that the matter will be dealt with by the committee and will be referred to the chiefs and police for further investigation if the youths did not return back the missing Oxygen Saturation Machine to the clinic.
“The clinic committee will deal with this matter and if we didn’t find the oxygen saturation machine then we will refer the case to the police for further investigation as this is a serious matter”, he says.
He said that he has already interviewed some of the boys in his community when he first heard the rumours and he was informed that most of those allegedly involved are children, some Grade five and four primary school children.
The chairman added that such an attitude of not having any respect for health facilities is uncalled for and his committee fully condemns such actions by the youths in the nearby communities.
The nurse in charge, Mrs Angela Teku added that this is not the first time such unacceptable behaviour has happened.
She says that this has been happening for some time now unnoticed until when they realise that the oxygen saturation machine is missing and a box full of catheters which she said must be taken to be used for making slings.
The perpetrators allegedly used small knives to bypass the locked doors for getting into the pharmacy room and the clinic’s store rooms. It was alleged that these young children were led by an older youth.
