The East New Britain Provincial Health Authority (ENBPHA) is progressing with its ongoing recruitment drive following the retirement of a significant portion of its staff, particularly in rural facilities.

A total of 37 staff members have now retired across several categories: eight on medical grounds, six on compulsory retirement as unattached positions identified by the Department of Personnel Management (DPM), and the remainder on a voluntary basis.

Known for an aging workforce, the PHA is utilizing its recent restructure and recruitment process to attract a younger workforce.

The authority aims to bring in more than 500 new employees to fill part of the 1, 776 positions advertised on the market, addressing a workforce that currently stands at 800 staff on strength.

PHA Human Resource Manager, Joseph Urauma, noted that this year’s retirement volume is exceptionally high for the PHA, making it necessary to run recruitment in batches to ensure vacancies are filled in a timely manner.

“Out of 37 retirees, 8 is on medical grounds, 6 are on compulsory retirement as identified by DPM while the remaining is on voluntary basis.”

“Technically, they are off the public service but are required to assist in work due to being still on the payroll despite signing the release of deed in mid-year.”

A major priority for the ENB PHA remains filling the staffing gaps in rural facilities, which were heavily impacted by this retirement exercise.