Minister for Health refers cleaning contract issue to PS Health

Minister for Health, Doctor Ratu Atonio Lalabalavu has referred our questions to the Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor JeMesa Tudravu after the President of International Women's Association Fiji, Judy Compain raised serious concern with the Ministry of Health and the Government Tender Board asking how the cleaning contract for CWM Hospital was re-awarded at a cost of $2.8 million per year despite it's previous sub-standard cleaning.

We sent questions to Doctor Lalabalavu on why the same shareholders with a different company name were given the contract.

He says he is away and referred the issue to the Permanent Secretary for Health.

fijivillage News has also raised the issue with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Professor Biman Prasad.

Compain says over the past couple of weeks, International Women's Association Fiji engaged it's contractors to inspect and repair the $320,000 IWA–Fiji Water sponsored bathrooms at the CWM Maternity and Children’s Hospital.

She says broken shower heads, toilet seats, and cisterns were replaced.

Compain says since completing this project in 2023, they have returned multiple times to carry out repairs due to wear and tear, breakages and heavy usage.

She says what continues to be deeply disappointing is the ongoing issue with cleanliness.

Compain says they have observed mould in bathrooms, unclean taps, toilet brushes stored in toilets, dirty fans, window ledges, exterior and surrounding areas.

She adds there is usually no toilet paper or hand soap in these bathrooms and toilets.

The IWA Fiji President says these are not minor oversights but clear signs that proper cleaning is either not being done or not held to the standard required in a hospital environment, particularly in high-risk areas.

She says in response, the Government Tender Board stated that the Fiji Procurement Office, through the Tenders Team, provided the necessary procurement regulatory advice for this tender.

Compain says they said that it is important to clarify that there was no deviation from the established evaluation process, which was chaired by experienced Ministry of Health and Medical Services CWM staff.

Compain asks experienced Ministry of Health and CWM staff, and hygiene experts.

She asks what do they think of the photos of the bathrooms and toilets, did any of them actually walk through the hospital, were the areas most prone to infection, were the bathrooms and toilets properly inspected.

Compain says the corridors and waiting areas are regularly mopped but these are the easy areas.

She asks what about the hard-to-maintain and high-risk areas.

Compain asks whether all terms of reference in the previous cleaning contract were verified and fulfilled before awarding a new tender.

She further asks are cleaning logs visible in the bathrooms showing cleaning every two hours, signed off by supervisors, can they be made public, who exactly did the evaluation team consult (and who are they at CWM before making their recommendation, did they physically inspect the bathrooms, toilets, staff-rooms, drains, window ledges, fans, and lights etc, how often do these “experts” personally inspect hospital facilities and were their evaluations based on firsthand visits.

Compain has shared photos she took last Thursday and some taken in May 2025 by their contractor, and the same month the new multi-million-dollar contract was awarded clearly show, this level of cleaning .

She says these are the bathrooms our women and children use.

The International Women's Association adds they have worked hard to ensure the basics - hot water, working taps, clean bathrooms, and a sense of dignity are provided to our women and children.

Compain says they are a volunteer organization that has stepped in repeatedly to renovate and upgrade hospital spaces because they believe in raising the standard of public healthcare.

She says the International Women's Association Fiji takes great pride in the work they do, and because they have been told that they must maintain and service the upgrades they have delivered, whether bathrooms, toilets, or air-conditioning units, they do so with the same pride and passion but shr says here they are again, stepping in and speaking out, because those paid to maintain these same standards continue to deliver sub-standard outcomes with zero accountability. Compain asks who will be held responsible, and will they still be talking about unhygienic bathrooms this time next year.

She asks will we continue to look the other way, now that over $10 million in public funds has been allocated to “upgrades”.

She asks haven't we always had more than enough funds for renovations and upgrades but these have not been spent.

Compain asks whether we will we see any visible improvement a year from now or will we still be scratching (or banging) our heads against the wall asking if, what or have any improvements been made.