Citizens under social welfare, free medicine, and kidney dialysis will now be seen under the Free Health Scheme from Monday

Fiji citizens under the Social Welfare, Free Medicine, and Kidney Dialysis Scheme will now be seen under the Public Private Partnership, Free Health Scheme effective from Monday.

The services will include two injections per patient per visit will be allowed under the scheme and any extra injections, patients will need to pay, one scan per patient per visit and any additional scans, patients will need to pay, one sugar prick test per patient per week, two fillings per patient per visit and 2 extractions per patient per visit.

The following changes have been made by the government to ensure quality healthcare services are provided to people.

Under this free health scheme patients are required to bring their social welfare card, free medicine card, and kidney dialysis approval letter to access services at the approved Clinics under the PPP scheme while General Practitioners, Dental Practitioners and Medical Labs will be required to search for social welfare card number for those under the Social Welfare programme.

Information on Birth Registration Number, voter registration number, date of birth, mobile number, and residential address will also be entered in the database or online portal by GPs, DPs and MLs however, if patients' details do not exist in the Portal for Social Welfare and Free Medicine Scheme/Kidney Dialysis programme, the GPs, DPs and MLs will be required to enter information of the patient through add client button to enter and update patient details during their first visit only.

The government says GPs, DPs and MLs will also be required to maintain a copy of the proof of Social Welfare Card or Free Medicine Scheme reference number or reference number under the Dialysis Subsidy programme for further verification for audit purposes.

They say dependents of applicants under the social welfare, free medicine scheme, or kidney dialysis program will be required to complete an application form and income declaration if their annual income is $30,000 or less.

GPs, DPs and MLs are authorised to fill out application forms for the dependents or family members of the social welfare recipients, free medicine ccheme patients and Kidney Dialysis patients and others if they meet the annual income criteria. However, the section of the statutory declaration form will need to be witnessed by the Justice of Peace, a Legal Officer, a District Officer or a Provincial Officer.

Fiji citizens who are not part of any of the above schemes can apply online by accessing the link: https://freehealthschemesfiji.com/application-form or submit or send hard copies of the application form to the Ministry of Finance, Strategic Planning and the National Development and Statistics office.