Service review says significant improvements seen at the Valelevu Health Centre while CWM Hospital remains at a plateau

Minister for Health Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete says he has seen significant changes at the Valelevu Health Centre while changes at the CWM Hospital remains at a plateau since the implementation of the 5S-KAIZEN-TQM program.

This 3-year-long project 5S-KAIZEN-TQM aims to improve service delivery by the Ministry of Health by way of sorting, setting, shining, standardizing and sustaining good working environments.

The plan promotes a neater, cleaner and more safer working environment which results in saving time and also makes it easier to locate items.

Dr Waqainabete says the Valelevu Health Centre is one hospital where they receive a lot of complaints and keeping in mind that the hospital serves over 60,000 patients, it has shown vast improvements.

He however says that CWM is a big institution on its own adding that its Management team is looking into the service delivery review.

The Ministry of Health, Japan International Corporation Agency and the Fujita Planning Co Limited are the agencies implementing this program.

The program started last year and ends in 2022.

The review says over the one year of its implementation a number of changes have been made in the 6 hospitals and outlets in terms of better organization.

A number of hospitals have submitted that one of the major outcomes of this program is saving of time as things which are better organized are easier to locate.

One of the constraints highlighted by the teams responsible for implementing this program in the hospitals is that there is no budget allocated for this program in their respective health care facilities.

The 6 facilities that are included in the program are the CWM Hospital, Labasa Hospital, Sigatoka Hospital, Nausori Maternity and Health Centre, Valelevu Health Centre and the Fiji Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Services Centre.