Speaking at the Fiji Medical Association Scientific Conference 2026, FMA President Dr Ronal Kumar raised concerns that doctors are carrying the responsibility of entire hospitals in some subdivisions, with some having no one to call for a second opinion and limited access to essential diagnostic services after hours.
He says the situation is directly affecting clinical decision-making and patient safety.
Kumar says laboratory and radiology technicians are often unavailable at night because of unpaid overtime issues and some doctors having to explain to families why scans cannot be done at night.
The President says doctors are also working under rosters designed for staffing levels that do not exist, while consultants are supervising more junior doctors than they can reasonably manage.
He says that health workers have also faced verbal abuse and threats because of failures in the system that are beyond their control.
He adds that one large subdivision in the Western Division has only two laboratory technicians and two radiology technicians, with each reportedly owed around 300 hours of overtime, equivalent to about 38 working days.
Kumar says many doctors are also considering moving overseas, particularly to Australia and New Zealand.
He stresses that the answer is not to appeal to doctors’ conscience, but to fix the conditions that are pushing them out, including rosters, supervision, postings, equipment and workplace safety.
The FMA President also raised concerns about the growing number of unemployed doctors waiting for positions after completing their internships, stressing that 23 doctors who have completed their internships are currently waiting to be posted, while almost 20 more are expected to complete their internships at the end of this month which could bring the number of doctors waiting for employment to about 43.
Kumar says the FMA wants to work with the Ministry of Health on a proper workforce plan so Fiji knows how many doctors it needs and where they are required.
He is calling for the internship review to be completed with formal representation from the medical profession and for the findings to be made public.
The FMA also wants vacant funded positions to be filled and posted within a defined timeframe and workforce planning considered for the future of medical students.
He says students entering medical school should be able to have confidence that there will be a job available when they graduate.
