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Health looks at Mortuary Options
- 04/02/2010
News in brief:
(THURSDAY FEBRUARY 4TH 2010, No:120/MOH) HEALTH LOOKS AT MORTUARY OPTIONS
Mortuaries remain an integration component of healthcare delivery in Fiji. The services have remained a free of charge item with unlimited timeline to duration. But Health spokesman Iliesa Tora said the Ministry of Health is looking at some options as it works on tackling the mortuary issue.
The State is in the process of reform and rationalization of its pro-bono services to meet the needs of its clients. There are currently 122 berths available Fiji wide.
These berths cater for all the population of 880,000. Mr Tora said the Ministry of Health also has the task of meeting competing needs to improve service delivery to newborn, adults with communicable and non-communicable diseases.
There are needs for the aging population and special needs to be addressed in developing tertiary care in areas of Cardiology, mental health, oncology and nephrology. Mr Tora said the Ministry of Health realizes that a multi-pronged approach is essential to address the issue.
This included privatizing the service. There are two private mortuaries at the moment. Navua has a private mortuary which remains under-utilized. A service fee applies but the takers opt for free State owned mortuaries.
Suva Private Hospital offers a service at a fee of $50/night.This service is utilized by some members of the community who have been patients at that establishment and by others who can afford the fee stipulated.
As part of the rationalization of service delivery, a period of three days is provided to dead bodies in the State mortuaries. Mr Tora said the ministry was exploring the possibility of charging fees for every day after the three-day period if the bodies are not removed.
He also added that the ministry was planning to also add more mortuary berths into our establishments provided fiscal measures allow this to be undertaken. In the 2010-2011 period the Ministry of Health will add 16 more berths Fiji wide to the expanded services we currently provide.
Mr Tora said the current crisis where the Lautoka, Nadi and CWM Hospital mortuaries are almost fully occupied daily means the ministry will have to work fairly hard at finding a long term solution.