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Assistant Minister visits Navua hospital

The Assistant Minister for Health and Medical Services visited the Navua Hospital last week to meet the staff of the hospital as well as get the first hand knowledge on the service delivery.

The newly built hospital has been under public attention and numerous issues were raised which have since been addressed .

SDMO Navua Dr Sailosi also briefed Mrs Bhatnagar on the need to relook at the drainage and suggested improvements to the kitchen.

Madam Bhatnagar assured that the Ministry will certainly look into the matter and take the necessary action.

“The Ministry will definitely look into this and appropriate action will be taken to address the issue”, added Mrs Bhatnagar.

Meanwhile Mrs Bhatnagar also welcomed the decision of the hospital to have a new Board of Visitors which will be appointed early next year.

Young children to be immunized with IPV Vaccine

The Ministry of Health & Medical Services has introduced the Inactivated Polio Vaccine

(IPV) into the routine immunization program in Fiji to protect young children from Polio, a

potentially fatal infectious disease.

Through this, the Fiji Government joins the world in eradicating the Polio virus and ensuring

that children live in a world free of paralysis due to polioviruses.

Poliovirus invades the nervous system and can cause crippling paralysis, sometimes in a

matter of hours, and the best way to prevent it is by immunizing every child.

While launching the program, the Hon. Minister for Health & Medical Services Mr Jone

Usamate said that although the last clinically confirmed case of polio was in 1962, the health

system has been doing fairly well in the immunization of children which now stands at 95%.

“Fiji has been using oral polio vaccine in the routine immunization since around 1963. At

present four doses of oral vaccine are being given to infants at 6, 10, 14 weeks and the fourth

dose at 18 months”, said Mr Usamate.

He further added that the Fiji Government remains committed to providing the highest

quality of health services to the people of Fiji.

Mr Usamate also acknowledged the support from the technical and donor partners such as

WHO, UNICEF and the Australian Government for continuously supporting the

immunization program in Fiji.

The World Health Organization designed a new strategy in 2012 to eradicate polio

worldwide, and the declining number of cases indicates that the “polio endgame” strategy

might be achieved in the not too distant future.

RE: OPEN HEART SURGERY ( CABG)

The Ministry of Health, Fiji, wishes to advise that open heart surgery (CABG) will be performed in CWM Hospital ,Suva. Details are as below:

4. Screening of patients …………….. Free from 4.2.016 to 12.2.2016
5. Angiogram from 4.2.2016 to 20.2.2016
6. CABG from 14.2.2016 to 26.2.2016

Medical procedures are performed under Joint Venture agreement between the Ministry of Health & Medical Services and Sahyadri Speciality Pacific Hospitals Limited (SSPHL) Fiji, estimated costs are as follows:

We wish to advise that the Ministry is willing to accommodate referrals from all General Practitioners, Hospital, health centres and Insurance companies, etc.

For further enquiries please contact the following personnel during official hours from Monday to Thursday 8.00a.m to 4.30 p.m Friday from 8.00a.m to 4.00 p.m:

1. Mrs Manjula W. Lal – Ministry of Health, PH -8905025, 3306177(Ext 340165)

We look forward to assisting our citizens in the provision of these specialized services.

Health: Register or renewal required for wholesalers, retailers of tobacco products and suki vendors

The Ministry of Health & Medical Services is reminding all wholesalers and retailers of tobacco products and suki vendors that they must make an application to be registered or renew their existing registration as required on an annual basis.

The registration of new tobacco retailers/suki vendors or renewal of current tobacco retailer/suki vendor registration certificates is currently effective from the 1^st of December 2015 at the Tobacco Control Enforcement Unit [TCEU] office at the Ministry of Health and Medical Services and all Rural Local Authority/Health Offices.

All tobacco product retailers will be levied a registration fee on new or renewed applications as stipulated under Schedule 5 of the Tobacco Control Regulations 2012.

Tobacco and suki vendors must make all efforts to visit the nearest health office in the central, western and northern division. The Tobacco Control Team will be present to do a mass registration and licensing campaign and the certificates will be issued on site.

Failure to obtain a registration certificate to sell tobacco products or suki by the 31^st of January 2016 is an offence and may incur a penalty of up to $5,000.00. Therefore, any retailer that sells tobacco products without a valid certificate on the 1^st of February 2016 is committing an offence and will be subjected to court proceedings.

The Health Ministry once again reminds all tobacco products and suki vendors to register or renew and can contact the Tobacco Control Enforcement Unit (Central) Level 3, Namosi House, Amy Street, Toorak Suva on Ph: 3314988 for more information.

 New Nursing Station opens in Nayavuira 

The Minister for Health & Medical Services Mr Jone Usamate officially opened the new nursing station at the Nayavuira village on Friday last week.

The new nursing station will provide basic health services while patients with major complications will be referred to Rakiraki subdivisional hospital.

Mr Usamate while addressing the people at the opening told them to take extra care of their health, avoid unhealthy foods and engage in physical activities.

“Your health depends on how you care about it. The consumption of excessive amounts of sugar, salt and fatty foods contribute to the high risk of contracting of NCDs and this is something you should avoid”, said Mr Usamate.

Mr Usamate further stated that the Government is firmly committed to the provision of the best medical services. However, to uphold the Ministry’s vision of a health population, the people must also take ownership of their own health by practicing healthy lifestyles.

Meanwhile the Health Ministry is hopeful that the completion of the projected healthcare facilities in 2016 and the intake of more nurses and doctors will further strengthen health service delivery across the country.