Safest place

THE Fiji Times headline captured the PM’s claim that Fiji is the “Safest place in the world” as evidenced by the unrivalled festivities and celebrations throughout the country during the Fiji Day celebrations.

I hope this translates into meaningful action on the ground.

Let me allude to the continuing frustrations and inhumane treatments meted to hundreds of families and friends of sick patients at the CWMH.

This has been the case for most of the year since COVID-19 restrictions were put in place.

While the rest of the country has moved on, the inefficient bureaucracy combined with the overbearing and dictatorial attitudes of the security staff, clad in khaki (reminiscent of the Indian police) continue to make visitor’s lives even more miserable.

Everyday the queues of people waiting in the hot sun or rain, to try and squeeze into the limited one hour visits permitted during 2-3pm.

There is no efficient procedure.

Firstly one goes past the security at the door who religiously look for names are not able to distinguish which patients already have the quota of visitors, are sprayed with detergents and then on to the next stage where details of name, age, address, telephone numbers etc are taken and then temperature taken before one is allowed to proceed.

This process took us 30 minutes and we had barely 30 minutes remaining to stay with our loved ones, feed, change and clean them.

Can the Ministry of Health please look into this.

The seemingly untrained security guards relish their new-found powers and rather than facilitating and treating fellow human beings with dignity are treating them like criminals.

Some even have difficulty reading names off the often incomplete register and of course the practice of pointing the temperature gun must be the biggest joke as they have no perception what an “abnormal” reading could be.

Please be reminded that people who are there do not go for pleasure or a joy ride, they are there because their loved ones are sick and need support.

In any case if we are COVID-19 free and safe, and there are no suspect patients admitted in the normal wards, what is the need for such military-like process.

MANISH CHAND Suva