Govt focuses on a new national hospital, upgrade of current hospitals and improvement in medicine supply

The government is currently focused on determining the most appropriate location for Fiji’s new national hospital.

While delivering the 2025/2026 National Budget, Deputy Prime Minister, Professor Biman Prasad says they are committed to moving the hospital out of the CBD and to a more accessible location for the people of the greater Suva-Nausori area.

Seven sites are currently under investigation, including Davuilevu, Tamavua, Raiwaqa, Samabula, Valelevu, Nabua and the existing CWM site.

Apart from site selection, they have also been working together with financiers led by the World Bank for a first phase financing package tentatively estimated at around $500 million.

The project and financing package is currently being worked on and an announcement will be made later this year.

He says they will need to increase the bed capacity from the current 453 beds at Fiji’s largest CWM hospital to 703 beds.

Professor Prasad says they need to cater for new services based on our disease profile and projections.

He says we need to make provisions to cater for the needs of the broader Pacific region too as this will also serve as a regional hospital.

The whole project will be costly and very expensive to the tune of almost $2 billion.

Professor Prasad says they are committed to getting this done with the support of our development partners and multilateral financiers like the World Bank and Asian Development Bank.

Detailed engineering assessment of the existing CWM Hospital has been completed, and 27 key priority projects have been identified which will cost around $63 million, with an initial funding support of $15 million from the Government of Australia.

This is in addition to the $8 million government financing component under the Ministry of Health.

The first phase of upgrades is underway, including renovation to the acute patient ward, increased backup water storage, replacement to sewer lines and repairs to roofing.

Additional projects will commence over the remainder of 2025.

They are also advancing the construction of a 100-bed Super Specialty Hospital in Nasinu, supported through a grant by the Government of India.

Land acquisition is now complete, and an Memorandum of Agreement is to be signed soon on the construction, operation and maintenance of the hospital.

The construction of this new hospital is expected to commence soon as design and procurement is finalized.

Professor Prasad says they have been encouraging and providing the necessary support through tax incentives and other support to entice the private sector to invest in hospitals.

The outcome has been positive.

He says we now have a number of private sector players - Pacific Specialist Healthcare, Oceania Hospitals, MIOT Pacific Hospital, Sai Prema Hospital, Heart International and the PPP hospital in Lautoka and Ba managed by Health Care Fiji.

$117 million has been allocated for the ongoing operations and maintenance costs to Health Care Fiji for the Lautoka and Ba Hospitals under the Public-Private Partnership arrangement.

With the help of IFC, they are currently reviewing the agreement to ensure it is cost effective and delivers the best services to our people.

Health Care Fiji is also expected to start the construction of a new 200 bed hospital in Lautoka.

An increased budget of $466 million has been provided to the Ministry of Health to fund the salaries of our doctors, nurses and allied health workers, procurement of medicines and biomedical equipment, upgrade and maintenance of hospitals and health centres across the country.

Continuous reforms are being undertaken at Fiji Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Services to ensure timely availability of medicines.

New tenders have been awarded for supply of major drugs and medicines.

An online logistics management system (MSupply) has been adopted to track medicine stock and manage orders across hospitals.

The government has also signed an agreement with the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission to allow them to buy medicinal drugs from India, in the most cost-effective way while ensuring that standards are always maintained.

They are continuing with the public private partnership, under the free medical scheme with over 64 general and dental practitioners and medical lab providers, that provide free medical services to our people.

They are also supporting kidney dialysis with an increased subsidy of $4.7 million to cater for the increased demand at private service providers.

The government will also continue to provide $4 million in operating grant to the Sai Prema Hospital, a great public private partnership programme focused on delivering heart-related services to our children.

To enhance service delivery and strengthen the dignity of care provided to families during times of loss, the government is allocating $1.2 million for construction of new mortuary units at health facilities across the country.

These include the Rakiraki and Tavua Sub-Divisional Hospitals, Nadarivatu Health Centre, Kadavu, Levuka, Savusavu, Dreketi, Seaqaqa, Wainibokasi, Nayavu Health Centre, Navua, Nabouwalu, and Taveuni Sub-Divisional Hospitals.

A record allocation of over $600 million is provided to our health sector in this budget, and in addition they are mobilizing almost a billion dollars in investments to start the new national hospital and other priority health infrastructure across the country.