Provision of Psychiatric services in Port Moresby General Hospital began in the early 1950s. In the early days Physicians were in the forefront of providing the Psychiatric care. PMGH then had a 20-bed secure acute inpatient unit built at the back of the Medical Wards that time. The facility comprised of separate male and female wards. That facility was demolished in the early 1990s during the construction of the current JICA wing and never replaced.

The current Acute Inpatient ward 6 is a 10-bed facility located in the last building next to Heduru Clinic opposite the Bana Koiri TB Clinic. When exiting the JICA wing it can be seen in the last building opposite the morgue. Ward 6 shares the same building with the Children’s Cancer ward, Ward 1E and the Outpatient Psychiatric Consultation Clinic.

The Psychiatry Division is proudly staffed by three (3) National Department of Heath Consultant Psychiatrists, two Psychiatry Registrars and thirteen nursing staff members. Nursing staff comprises of three mental health nurse specialists, three general nursing officers and seven community health workers.

Psychiatry being an integral part of internal medicine is a vital component of service provision of Port Moresby General Hospital. Hence the following services are offered to the local community and the rest of the country;

• Acute Psychiatric Inpatient care
• Emergency Psychiatric care through the Emergency Department
• Consultation Liaison Psychiatry
• Outpatient Consultation Clinic
• Teaching of undergraduate and postgraduate medical students, undergraduate mental health nursing and general nursing students and other students from other institutions.

Those admitted to ward six (6) are cared for by hard working staff who strive to provide quality of care with the limited resources available. Three weekly ward rounds are conducted on Mondays(teaching), Tuesdays and Fridays. Inpatient rehabilitation program is part of the inpatient care.

Excellent working relationship exists between the Psychiatry Department and the Emergency Department of the Hospital. Patients seeking psychiatric care access care through the emergency Department. Psychiatric patients referred from Provincial Hospitals and other Health care Facilities in the country are expected to present through the Emergency Department. For those requiring hospitalization the decision to admit to ward 6 or the Laloki Public Psychiatric Hospital is made at the Emergency Department.

Consultation Liaison Psychiatric Services is provided to the medical, surgical, O&G, Pediatrics, medical social works departments to help them manage patients under their care who exhibit psychological and behavioral abnormalities.

Three Psychiatric consultation clinics are conducted weekly. These include the Tuesdays Child Guidance Clinic and the Wednesdays and Thursdays General Adult Psychiatric Clinics. Fridays is allocated to Laloki Hospital Staff to review their patients.

The Child Guidance clinic offers services to children and adolescents aged 0-18 years and their families.

Contact us for fees.