$10.3m hospital opens in Rotuma
AFTER nine years, the new $10.3million Rotuma Subdivisional Hospital was opened on Wednesday, marking a momentous occasion in the history of health services on Rotuma and Fiji.
A statement from the Ministry of Health states the hospital will serve a population of about 1899 people on Rotuma’s 22 villages.
In his address, Health Minister Dr Atonio Lalabalavu said the new hospital replaced the old Rotuma Rural Hospital at the same site.
Dr Lalabalavu said work on the new hospital started in 2015, however, many factors contributed to the delay in construction, which included the distance from the mainland where the resources and technical expertise were sourced from, and the COVID outbreak in 2020 and 2021.
“Today’s milestone commissioning brings to conclusion the establishment of the newest addition to the family of health facilities under the Ministry of Health and Medical Services,” Dr Lalabalavu said in the statement.
“The old hospital was a wooden structure with many parts deteriorating from the many years of use and decay.
“The hospital had served the people well over the years and was at high risk of catastrophic damage if a severe climatic event struck the island.”
Dr Lalabalavu said the hospital, the only public health facility on the island, boasted a range of services that would be of a higher standard.
“I also anticipate that the new facility will now be in a better position to cater for more regular outreach specialist teams from CWM Hospital and Labasa Hospital.”
The cyclone-proof hospital will include 11 admission beds compared with only four beds in the older hospital, a birthing unit, a new operating theatre, new oxygen concentrator machines, and new patient monitoring equipment.
Dr Lalabalavu thanked the military, in particular, the engineers or the “Mataisau” Regiment and subcontractors for their perseverance in the construction of the hospital.
He urged staff to utilise the resources of the new hospital to deliver the best health service to the people of Rotuma.