A medical X-ray staff member will be deployed to Korovou Hospital before the end of this year following discussions between Assistant Minister for Health Penioni Ravunawa and the Ministry of Health’s executive team.
This comes as people in Tailevu continue to raise concerns about the lack of medical imaging services at the hospital, with patients currently having to travel outside the district to get X-rays.
The issue was raised during the Fijian Media Association Town Hall Forum at Tailevu Hotel, where concerns were highlighted about the extra travel and costs faced by people needing these services.
In a statement, Ravunawa says he wants to provide a detailed explanation of the situation, saying the shortage of specialised health workers is a longstanding problem that the Government has been trying to address over the past three years.
He says becoming a qualified Medical Imaging Technologist takes time, with students required to complete four years of university studies followed by a compulsory 12-month internship at the CWM Hospital before they can be deployed within the Ministry.
Ravunawa says another challenge is that Fiji’s Medical Imaging and Medical Laboratory Science programmes at the Fiji National University are now recognised for professional registration in Australia and New Zealand.
He says while this shows the quality of Fiji’s training, it also means graduates are in high demand overseas, making it harder to recruit and keep specialised health workers in Fiji.
Ravunawa says the Coalition Government has introduced a policy requiring recipients of Government-funded scholarships to be bonded, with the aim of ensuring Fiji benefits from its investment in training people for critical health professions.
He says the Ministry is continuing to recruit, train and deploy qualified health workers as positions become available.
The Assistant Minister says addressing the shortage is not just about producing more graduates, as the Ministry is also looking at better workforce planning, infrastructure, competitive pay, allowances, staff accommodation, modern medical equipment and improved logistics across health facilities.
Ravunawa says efforts are also underway to complete upgrades to the X-ray infrastructure at Korovou Hospital and deploy the necessary personnel to meet patient demand before the end of this year.
He says restoring and strengthening health services at Korovou Hospital remains a priority for the Ministry.
