Category Public Advisory

HEALTH MINISTRY EMPHASIZES BETTER COORDINATION DURING DISASTERS

Safe and adequate water with sufficient sanitation and good hygiene should be provided to avoid the risk of disease outbreaks.

This was highlighted by the Minister for Health and Medical Services, Hon. Jone Usamate while opening the Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) cluster coordination training in Suva today.

The health ministry was the lead agency for the WASH program in the aftermath of Cyclone Winston.  The Fijian Government activated the cluster system to assist the overall response effort and to improve the coordination of the response activities.

“WASH is part of the 10 functional clusters under the National Disaster Management Structure. The five day training will enable a more efficient and clear evidence based strategies to build healthy resilient communities and bring about actions in our response and coordination in times of disasters and even between disasters,” Minister Usamate said.

He added that in any emergency, communities need to access safe drinking water, adequate sanitation and hygiene.

“Effective and timely intervention can reduce the spread of disease and your work as a cluster contributes in a big way to building our communities to have safe access and practices towards water and sanitation.”

The Minister urged participants to take stock of what was not done and address responses recorded in the evaluation of the last disaster.

Health Minister opens Nurses symposium

While opening the 2^nd National Nurses Scientific Symposium, the Minister for Health and Medical Services Mr Jone Usamate appealed to nurses to enhance health service delivery for the benefit of all Fijians.

Mr Usamate said that nurses are on the frontline of the health workforce and ultimately they are the face of the Ministry, a noble responsibility which carries an obligation to deliver high quality service.

“You play a huge role in the provision of health care services and your attitudes, your knowledge, your expertise, your care and compassion, all impact the type of health service we have”, Mr Usamate said.

“That is why this symposium is important, because it provides knowledge, and the sharing of experiences and networking that can enhance the quality of nursing and thereby health in general”, he further added.

Mr Usamate also reminded the nurses to be advocates of behaviour change; something that every Fijian can do to better look after their own health.

“Nurses are agents of change. You should not only talk about it, but at the same time foster the wellness within you. Then you can not only tell people, but show them the way by demonstrating behaviour change”, he said.

The chief Nurse of New Zealand Dr Jane Ellen echoed similar sentiments with the honourable Minister.

“You can make the difference if you are refreshed, organized and well equipped to serve the people”, said Dr Ellen.

More than 160 nurses from around the country are attending the two day symposium at the pearl resort in Pacific Harbour which concludes on Friday.

Nadi hospital focuses on customer care

The appointment of two more medical officers (doctors) at the Nadi hospital has significantly improved the healthcare services as patients spend less time waiting to receive medical treatment in the general out patients department (GOPD).

This was revealed to the Minister for Health and Medical Services Mr Jone Usamate while visiting the hospital on Saturday as he continues to monitor services health facilities around the country.

Numerous complaints were lodged to the Health Ministry and through social media recently on irregularities at the hospital and this has drawn lot of criticism from the residents of Nadi.

The subdivisional medical officer at Nadi hospital Dr Shah informed Mr Usamate that the administration has mapped out stringent strategies to enhance medical services to cater for the 94,000 residents of Nadi.

“Some of the complaints were blown out of proportion but we have introduced new measures such as allocating the doctors and nurses to constantly attend to patients in various areas and this has increased the efficiency in the health service delivery”, said Dr Shah.

Mr Usamate also reminded staff to maintain the current level of service delivery while projecting the path to improving the services and determine the strategies to achieve that desired outcome.

“You must first establish where you are and what more needs to be done to enhance the service delivery and map out strategies to achieve the desired outcome”, Mr Usamate said.

We must at all times be mindful of the values of the ministry such as equity, customer focus, edge etc, so that we are able to address patients’ needs”, Mr Usamate added.

Meanwhile the Health Ministry will look into the provision of other resources to consolidate staff efforts in addressing an increase in patient numbers, which has doubled in the past few years.

Patient numbers have grown from 50,000 to 100,000 and this has stretched the workload at the hospital, but the commitment from the staff has been very instrumental to adjusting to this increase.

The Nadi Hospital has also embarked on plans to establish a footcare clinic in the near future as the only footcare clinic is available at the Lautoka hospital in the western division.

Mr Usamate later visited the Lautoka Divisional Hospital and addressed the staff on similar issues.

The very first edition of the Health Ministry’s new “Health and Wellness” lifestyle neswletter is out! Click on the link below to access a digital copy of our new helathy living inspiration:

Health & Wellness – 1st Edition

EU Fun Run

Leading by example, the Minister for Health & Medical Services, Hon Jone Usamate took part in the European Union (EU) Fun Run that happened over the weekend.

Despite the early morning drizzle, Mr Usamate energized the crowd and thanked the EU for organising such an event.

“As we all know, July is NCD month, so there’s never been a better time to eat healthily and increase your physical activity. I want to see more events like this that promote Wellness. I firmly believe that all Fijians need to move more, and Fun Runs like this are a good way to motivate people”, he said.

Two races were run simultaneously along the Suva seawall, being 10km and 5km. The winners were:

5km Women: Maya Ramsden; Men: Jeremiah Shavneel

10km Women: Kati Doehring; Men: Raveneel Kumar