Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Professor Biman Prasad has revealed the Colonial War Memorial Hospital in Suva still has no laundry, five years on after a fire in one of its boilers.
He said the Government has inherited a national health system on the verge of collapse.
Prof Prasad said in the last few days, they have discovered that the new Navua Hospital built 10 years ago, on which completion was never properly certified, cannot keep the power and water going.
He said it will need an overhaul which will cost more than $10 million and this is just one example of the crisis we face in almost all of Fiji’s health facilities.
“Levuka Hospital’s mortuary has finally failed. Most of our hospitals are in shocking physical condition. The toilets are not working. There are long queues of people waiting for hours in need of urgent health care. Medical equipment is not working.”
“Essential drugs and medicines are not available on time,” Prof Prasad said.
He also highlighted that the Ministry of Health lacked 800 nurses.
Prof Prasad said doctors and other exhausted health professionals are treated poorly and not listened to when they offer solutions.
He said this is the consequence of years of serious neglect of health infrastructure and services.
