Category Public Advisory

Health Ministry holds first public Health Consultations in the central division.

The Ministry of Health and Medical First ever public health consultation was held at the Nausori Health Centre with the overwhelming support from the people of Rewa.

These public consultations serve the platform where the people have the opportunity to discuss with the health authorities on the services provided by the health facilities.

While Addressing the public The Assistant Minister for Health and Medical Services Mrs Veena Bhatnagar said that the Ministry is fully committed in improving the health services and is ready to listen to the grievances of the people.

“”We have come to you to listen to the problems you face while visiting the health Facilities and we will do our level best to address them”, said Mrs Bhatnagar.

“We do understand that not everything can be addressed overnight but we will definitely look into your concerns and find the best solutions so that the people can get the appropriate treatment’, added Mrs Bhatnagar.

It was also established that some members of the public were not aware of the procedures and services offered at the Health facilities.

Mrs Bhatnagar has reminded the health staff to be more vigilant in the awareness program so that the public have adequate knowledge of the health system.

Meanwhile, more consultations are will be conducted in future and the public is reminded to take full benefit of such programs.

AMHMS

Assistant Health Minister focuses on mother tongue.

The Assistant Minister For Health and Medical Services Mrs Veena Bhatnagar told Devotees at the Fiji Sevashram Sangh that mothers play a key role in promoting the mother tongue and culture to their children.

Children are practically attached more to their mother so it becomes more practical for the mothers to speak to the child on the importance of knowing their mother tongue and being well -versed with their culture.

Meanwhile, Mrs Bhatnagar will lead the Fijian delegation to International Summit on Advantage Health care India 2015. The Summit will be held in Delhi, India and will focus on developing partnerships in the medical and holistic health care sector.

Labasa hospital observes world Pharmacists Day.

The health staff at Labasa hospital celebrated the World Pharmacists Day at the Labasa Hospital last week.

This special day, now in its fifth year, was established by the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), and the global federation of national associations of pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists, which is in official relations with the World Health Organization.

Curahealth pharmacy offers everything from vitamins to medications. They can delight you with a wide range of products and fairly low prices.

The purpose of World Pharmacists Day is to encourage activities that promote and advocate for the role of the pharmacist in improving health in every corner of the world.

This year’s theme developed by FIP, is “Pharmacists: your partners in health”.

The Medical Superintendent of the Labasa hospital Dr Mikaele Mua  has encouraged the public to make use of the pharmacy to be better informed.

“I want to encourage  customers to make use of pharmacies when visiting the hospital to further enhance their knowledge on medicines and treatment”, Dr Mua Said.

Dr Mua added that the health facilities are committed to ensuring appropriate use of medicines which is safe and effective to all the people that they serve.

No shortage of syringes and needles

The Ministry of Health and Medical Services advises the public that there is currently no shortage of needles and syringes at Makoi or any other health centres in Suva.

There are sufficient syringes and needles for nurses to provide injections of vaccine and antibiotics.

Diabetic patients treated with insulin are trained to use syringes and needles for this purpose.

Pharmacists dispense insulin free of charge to patients based on a prescription by the doctor but do not necessarily dispense syringes and needles.

Furthermore, needles and syringes are commonly used by trained Nursing staff to provide medication.

Children who are insulin dependent or young diabetic patients are provided with syringes and needles for their parents to administer medication until adulthood, after some training by doctors/nurses on their proper use and disposal.  Similarly at the Nuffield clinic, according to pharmacists and the medical officer in charge, there is no lack of dressings at the health centre.

Therefore the nurses do not need to ask the patients to bring their own dressings to the clinic although they may ask for the patient to return for further review and dressing as per their doctor’s prescribed order.

Patients often request for a plaster or dressing from the nurses to take home to do their own dressing, but their request may be refused largely because the wound should be reviewed at the health centre to ensure it is healing well.