Doctors look forward to Govt initiative
The Fiji College of General Practitioners (FCGP) is looking forward to the implementation of the Government policy which encourages general practitioners to set up clinics in various places across the country.
The new policy is to incentivise General Practitioners (GP) to set up shop directly in Fijian communities that includes peri-urban areas, towns, local communities and rural and remote parts of the country.
College president Dr John Fatiaki said they supported the Government’s policy.
“The GPs are waiting for the Government to meet with us so that we can know more about this policy,” Dr Fatiaki said.
“We have heard about it for a couple of months now. We want to know about it more in detail. The private doctors are ready to take part and support it so we are just waiting for further instructions.”
In the 2018-2019 National Budget announcement, Minister of Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum while addressing the late Speaker of Parliament Dr Jiko Luveni said Fijians had become more conscious of their health and are keener to access medical services.
“We want to give our people the ability to easily and conveniently see a General Practitioner to be consulted on their health and to access basic medical services,” he said.
“If it’s a more complex matter, or serious health emergency, then Fijians should rely on our public health facilities, but they shouldn’t have to make that journey and wait in line for simple health check-ups and treatments. “And that’s why we’re announcing this programme. It’s seeking to create a new sector, a strong private GP sector in Fiji, by offering a comprehensive package of incentives. “That will include guaranteed income based on the number of patients they are assigned to serve, with additional financial assistance provided to GPs who set-up in deep rural and maritime areas that are a distance away from our public health network, whether that be in Nabouwalu, Nasorowaqa or Korovou, just to name some examples.
“We’ll roll out the first trial launch on January 1, 2019. And I’d like to thank the Asian Development Bank and Australian Government for their assistance in developing this programme.”