The Ministry of Health says they are working to restore full Radiology and Laboratory services at Savusavu Hospital after serious concerns were raised by members of the public that the x-ray machine and Haematology Analyzer were not working for the past 2 months.
The Ministry says the x-ray machine in the Radiology Unit at the hospital is currently non-functional and the Ministry’s Biomedical team is working on a software replacement and short-term deployment of a Portable Digital x-ray machine to assist with the service needs at the hospital.
They say for the long-term, they plan to install a new general x-ray machine for the hospital when the new machines purchased by the Ministry arrives in June this year.
The Ministry says patients requiring x-ray investigations are currently sent to Labasa Hospital or a private provider in Savusavu when the need arises.
They say ultrasound tests are continuing to be provided at the unit in the hospital.
The Ministry says the Haematology Analyzer at the Laboratory Unit of Savusavu Hospital is also non-functional and the Ministry is working on a replacement for the old machine.
They say specimens for haematological testing are currently sent to Labasa and the local private provider when required.
The Ministry is yet to confirm when lab services will normalise at the hospital.
The Ministry says basic biochemistry, blood crossmatching, serology testing continues to be conducted at the laboratory.
They encourage members of the public to continue to present themselves to the hospital when requiring medical care, and requests the public to bear with the Ministry as they work to restore full radiology and laboratory services at Savusavu Hospital.
