Reports from Papua New Guinea say there is no doctor left at the Tari district hospital in the Southern Highlands province.
The Post Courier newspaper says the hospital serves more than 300,000 people in the Hela region and has no doctor to attend to their medical and health problems.
The acting chief executive officer, Dr Bravy Koensong, reportedly left in June after threats by locals who alleged that he had mismanaged the hospital's affairs.
The paper says a veteran health extension officer and a handful of nurses are at the hospital.
It reports that nurses say that they sometimes play the part of qualified doctors to deal with common tropical sicknesses and other medical problems.
But they say without a doctor to manage the affairs of the hospital, nearly half of the 46 nursing staff have walked off from their duties and are roaming around the streets of Port Moresby, Mendi, Mt Hagen and other main centres while on full pay.
