We are focused to deliver better outcomes in health care and address the ongoing issues once and for all.
That is Acting Prime Minister, Manoa Kamikamica's message to the people after serious concerns raised by the General and Chief Pediatric Surgeon at the CWM Hospital, Dr Josese Turagava about years of neglect to meet the demands at the hospital.
Kamikamica says the advice by Fiji's Head Surgeon on the issues facing the health system merely supports the argument by the People's Coalition Government that the FijiFirst Government left a mess in the health system.
He says the challenge for the new Government is to fix the issues and look no further than the hard work of the Minister for Health Ratu Atonio Lalabalavu and his team at the Ministry.
Doctor Turagava says the 500 beds at the CWM Hospital are not meeting the demand that is coming through in Fiji.
Dr Turagava says due to the increase in the number of people who are moving to the Lami, Suva and Nausori corridor, the demand that is in the hospital is just too much.
He says the CWM Hospital was only created to look after a certain number of people, but with all the demand, it will take patients admitted with a suspected appendix in Navua two to three days for a bed to clear off at CWM.
He adds out of the eight operating theatres at the hospital, only three or four are functioning, and during an operation last two weeks, the ceiling of one of the theatres fell showing that the hospital needs a lot of maintenance.
He says they have got a whole lot of waiting lists of cancer patients but they are not able to look at them because most of them have to come in after hours to clear the workload.
The Chief Surgeon says one of the examples is that their sterilising machine has been there for the last 24 years and has not been changed, the same with their boiler and laundry room which was burnt over two years ago and they are still outsourcing all the other work.
