Clean-up effort

THE fact that more than 50 volunteers from Raiwaqa Settlement conducted a clean up of the Navua Hospital surroundings at the weekend should attract attention.

Coming in the wake of the major clean up of the Colonial War Memorial Hospital in Suva the other weekend, it also will raise some questions.

It is encouraging to see Fijians taking ownership of their hospitals. In fact it should be the way to go.

However, there must also be a sense of responsibility on the part of those tasked to look after our health facilities.

The volunteers from Raiwaqa Settlement went in equipped with brush cutters, water blasters and brooms.

The hospital’s acting divisional medical officer Dr Doreen Mani said the show of force despite inclement weather was a huge boost for the hospital.

The clean up, she said, was an initiative by the new Board of Visitors of the Navua Hospital and other stakeholders led by the Raiwaqa Alta youth group from Navua.

“After such a long time, this was a first clean up being done at the hospital and we thank the new Board of Visitors for this great initiative,” Dr Mani said.

Raiwaqa Alta group club leader Romal Lal said “it was the right thing to do”.

As we said in the wake of the clean up at the CWMH, people united for a common goal, to clean up the city’s major hospital and you could feel the community spirit, the enthusiasm, drive and unity.

You could sense an appreciation of working together as a team.

Once again, we are reminded about the need for the Ministry of Health to be proactive moving forward.

There would be questions asked about how much attention was given to health facilities over the past few years.

We again suggest that if there was neglect, then there has to be a concerted effort to ensure our medical facilities are up to the highest standards in terms of cleanliness, and resources moving forward.

Our health facilities have to be well placed to cater for the needs of all those who seek advice, treatment and other services there, and they meet the highest standards of cleanliness expected of any top medical facility around the world.

Cleanliness and hygiene are critically important to not only fight the spread of germs, but to instil confidence in