Tudravu clears air on repairs
THE Ministry of Health has allocated resources for the repairs of all health facilities around the country since the approval of the budget.
This is according to permanent secretary for Health, Dr Jemesa Tudravu while responding to queries on the ongoing renovations at the Colonial War Memorial (CWM) Hospital.
In a post, International Women’s Association (IWA) Fiji president, Judy Compain said the recent IWA charity ball set a record with over 450 people in attendance and a total of $355,000 raised.
“Our CWM Children’s Hospital will finally get an echocardiogram and a brand new elevator,” she said.
Ms Compain said the success of the charity event showed the amazing support, trust, and confidence in the association.
While acknowledging the assistance from the association, Dr Tudravu said improving the health facilities of hospitals and health centres around the country was an ongoing process as this was “not a quick fix”.
“It is an ongoing process throughout the ministry and all other health facilities,” Dr Tudravu said.
“As you know infrastructure improvement is not a quick fix — it takes time.
“It takes careful planning and engagement of suitable providers and companies to do the work and upgrade the standards.”
Dr Tudravu said in terms of procuring and prioritising health equipment at hospitals, the ministry heavily relied on overseas partners and suppliers for this.
“The prioritisation has already happened in terms of what are some of the immediate priorities or equipment that we need, but the prioritisation process continues.
“As we look at our budget utilisation, we project what’s leftover and we reprioritise, and we ensure that what we need most comes first.
“We’ve often stated before, we don’t manufacture any health equipment or health supplies in Fiji, we rely on our overseas partners and suppliers to provide them.”
He said diagnostic equipment for laboratories and patient monitoring equipment were on the top of list of machines needed.
Dr Tudravu added the ministry was also looking into replacing age old machines and equipment.