Health Minister Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete says if somebody has decided not to keep a health centre open, then that person has to be disciplined after a man told Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum that he took his grandfather who had chest pain to 3 public health centres last Sunday and no doctor attended to him.
While speaking during the budget consultation in Nausori last night, the man said in the end they had to take his 75-year-old grandfather to a private doctor the next morning.
He says they took his grandfather to the Lami Health Centre at 7pm and then to the Valelevu Health Centre at 7.30pm but both were closed.
The man says they then went to the Emergency Department at the CWM Hospital at around 7.45pm where they did the ECG and his grandfather started having severe chest pain.
He says a private doctor prescribed his grandfather some medicine the next morning and he is doing well now.
The man also shared their experience when he took his 7-year-old daughter to the Nausori Health Centre.
He had also raised concerns regarding the dental services at the Nausori Health Centre where only 15 numbers are available for half a day and people come as early as 6am to take the number.
The man adds 15 people are being attended to at around 8.30am till lunch and the rest of the people are seen after the lunch break.
When questioned by fijivillage, Dr Waqainabete says they have made it very clear to their Divisional Medical Officers that when a centre is supposed to be open within a particular time frame, then it has to be open.
He says they have also made it clear to their staff that they have to be professional and competent.
The Health Minister adds they have employed another 140 doctors and are looking to employing 200 more nurses.
Dr Waqainabete says they have to work on the process issues which has to be sorted by the leadership teams within the Ministry and adds the attitude needs to change.
Meanwhile Sayed-Khaiyum says the health issues that have been raised by the man is something the Government is also battling with.
He says if there were only 2 patients to see during the shift change, the doctors could have attended to the man’s daughter.
Sayed-Khaiyum says the Health Minister cannot come at night and make the doctor attend to the patient and this is an attitudinal issue.
The Attorney General says he is sorry that the man had to go through all that and adds they are expanding the GP services.
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