CWMH’s legacy of service
Dr Lalabalavu briefs Parliament on hospital’s history
THE Colonial War Memorial Hospital is not the oldest health facility in Fiji, however, its achievement and contribution to the health of the people of Fiji over these 100 years is most certainly worthy of our acknowledgement and appreciation.
Brief History of CWMH
The original Colonial Hospital was located at Levuka, the old capital of Fiji, in Ovalau, built by the local business community with the support of the British Subjects' Mutual Protection Society in the 1860s.
In 1894, the hospital was then relocated to Walu Bay in Suva, some 12 years after the capital was officially relocated from Levuka Town to Suva town in 1882.
In 1918, the deadly Spanish Influenza pandemic that caused a high number of sickness and the demise of about five per cent of the population in Fiji put a lot of pressure on the hospital. The hospital was overwhelmed with cases and temporary hospitals were set up in the nearby schools and halls around Suva to cater for patients coming to the hospital.
It was reported that from this experience, the then Government considered building a new and bigger hospital. With the end of the World War I in 1918, the decision was made to build the new hospital as a memorial to Fijian citizens who served in the war – hence the name, the "Colonial War Memorial Hospital".
In 1923, the new CWM Hospital was constructed and completed with the aid of £319,500. It was officially opened by the then Governor of Fiji, Sir Cecil Rodwell, on 2nd December 1923.
At the time of its opening, the new hospital boasted a total of 108 beds with a staffing of two doctors and a total of 27 staff. Out of the 27, 17 were European staff and 10 were native staff, as they were called then.
The new CWM Hospital contained an Out-patient Department, administration offices, inpatient ward beds for 28 Europeans and 80 natives, kitchen, laundry, operating-room, X-Ray-room, clinical laboratory, nurses' home, and lecture room.
An interesting and probably not well known bit of the history of the hospital is that the hospital was said to be the brainchild of Sir Henry Marks, an Australian born businessman of Jewish descent, and Legislative Council member, who personally donated £5000 towards its founding, and gave another £5000 through his company.
Sir Marks who was later elected as Mayor of Suva from 1926 to 1930, also held the rank of Major in the Fiji Volunteer Force, before being made Honorary Colonel of the Fiji Defence Force in 1937.
CWMH today
As we have witnessed over these 100 years, the hospital has evolved and expanded its service. The hospital infrastructure has expanded tremendously from the original ferro-concrete building which constituted the current West Wing of the hospital.
The hospital now has more than 500 inpatient beds and a workforce of more than 2000 workers, and the scope of health provided by the hospital has expanded many fold.
Tertiary health care services like those available in tertiary hospitals abroad are now provided at the hospital by well trained and competent Fijian health care workers.
The hospital has continued in its teaching role which started when the Colonial Hospital was in Levuka and continues to this day, preparing the region's next generation of health practitioners through handon training for thousands of undergraduate and post graduate trainees in medicine, nursing, dental, allied health, health management, support services, and even including trainees from well developed countries around the world.
Over this century of service, many millions of Fijian citizens have been born, cared for, had consultation, treated, reviewed, and discharged from the hospital.
As the referral hospital for the Central and Eastern health divisions, the hospital has ably provided health services to people referred for admission at the hospital, as well as conduct outreach visits to many islands in the Eastern Division, as well to the communities in Rewa, Tailevu, and the interior of Naitasiri.
In addition, medical specialists from CWM Hospital continue to carry out outreach visits to the Western and Northern health divisions of the country, taking specialist medical service closer to the population in these divisions.
In 2021, the hospital also faced a very similar challenge in the COVID-19 pandemic, to the Spanish Flu pandemic that the original hospital faced in 1918. CWM Hospital responded effectively and contributed immensely to the ministry’s overall successful response to the pandemic.
Infrastructure improvement
Addressing the aging infrastructure at CWM Hospital has been a real challenge that previous governments have attempted to address.
The hospital currently has a total of 14 buildings of varying ages. Those buildings that are 20 years and older require significant infrastructural improvement works. A number of infrastructure assessment have been done over the last decade and some repair and renovation works undertaken.
The ministry is committed to undertaking the necessary works to address the infrastructure needs for the hospital, and is utilising our allocated resources as well as liaising with our health partners for technical assistance.
With the World Bank's assistance, a "Structural Assessment" project was approved in June 2023, and is in progress for the hospital. The structural and retrofitting assessment is to determine which buildings are suitable for refurbishment or extension, and to delineate the necessary structural interventions required to improve services, safety, climate resilience, and compliance with national building codes.
An initial scoping mission was completed in October this year and it has identified 8 out of 14 buildings as eligible for structural integrity and retrofitting assessments and further prioritisation of the buildings is underway by the ministry. A full detailed assessment under the project is anticipated to commence in January 2024.
The assessment report will assist the ministry to prioritise the most urgent retrofits at CWM Hospital for consideration in our next annual budget proposal, while feeding into the longer-term master planning for health service delivery in Fiji.
In addition, the ongoing "Health Sector Review" that the World Bank is assisting the government in is expected to provide additional information that will inform the master planning process that is required for the hospital.
Centennial celebration
The CWM Hospital's Board of Visitors have been working hard and supporting the Medical Superintendent Dr Luke Nasedra and the hospital management in the celebration program.
The board members led by the chair Dr Esther Williams are volunteers, and are putting in a great effort to support the centennial celebrations for the hospital.
The centennial celebration was formally launched on Remembrance Day on 11th November 2023 at CWM Hospital and it was fitting that the hospital hosted exservicemen from the Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) on the auspicious occasion.
The celebration program includes:
■ the planting of 100 trees around the hospital compound
■ a planned clean-up campaign for the hospital scheduled for Saturday 25 November 2023
■ a sports day for the hospital staff planned for Saturday 02 December 2023
■ the Open Day for the hospital on 13th, 14th, and 15th December 2023 to be held at Albert Park, and
■ a Gala Dinner and Ball to be held on 16th December 2023, to acknowledge the hospital staff and the stakeholders.
I look forward to the support and participation of all Hon Members of Parliament at the various activities of the centennial celebration.
Conclusion
In conclusion, as CWM Hospital launches into the centennial celebration, we also acknowledge and pay our deepest respect to those dedicated hospital workers who worked hard and gave their best in delivering health services from the hospital in this 100 years.
We pay tribute to the former medical superintendents, matrons, consultants, doctors, nurses, dental officers, allied health practitioners, ward assistants, drivers and other support services workers of yesteryears, many of whom have since passed on while some are still with us today. We also know that some of their descendants have come back to serve at CWM Hospital, and some are still here today.
The ministry remains committed to supporting the role of the Colonial War Memorial Hospital to carry on the legacy of service and caring irrespective of age, gender, economic status or belief in the next 100 years.