Archives June 2016

NCD SCREENINGS

The month of July will mark the Non-communicable disease month of the Ministry of Health. Together with the launch on Friday, the various health facilities will be conducting screenings for the public.

People are advised to present themselves for check ups at the following venues in the central division.

Dates and venues for all other divisions will be advertised in the social media and people can easily access them.

Central Screening Dates and Locations:

International Yoga Day 

While most of the people were busy engaged in sports and other enjoyment, H.E The President of Fiji Major General Jioji Konrote joined the Indian High Commission’s International Yoga Day celebrations.

Both the Minister and the Assistant Minister for Health and Medical Services also attended the event to capture the benefits of Yoga in daily life.

Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual practice or discipline which originated in ancient India. The event is observed annually and has attracted scores of people from various faiths.

Midwives receive further training

The Minister for Health and Medical Services Mr Jone Usamate officially closed the week-long International Midwifery conference at the Fiji National University last Friday.

Midwives from around the country received more specialized training from their counterparts from USA. Australia, and New Zealand to enhance their skills in the midwifery practice and provide better quality service to mothers in Fiji.

During the training, a resolutions document was drafted and presented to Mr Usamate which consisted of the immediate needs of upskilling the nurses to provide quality healthcare services.

Mr Usamate praised the work of the nurses and advised them to grab every opportunity to broaden the horizon of their skills.

“It’s a phenomenal role that they perform and I applaud the efforts”, Mr Usamate said.

He added that for a healthier population as in the vision of the Health Ministry a good start has to be made and this requires the services of the trained staff like you.

“You must have learnt a lot of things such advocating natural safe birthing and working together to deliver the required services in this field”.

Mr Usamate thanked the trainers for imparting much-needed knowledge about safer and healthier delivery of babies to the midwives of Fiji.

Mental Health services highlighted at GP’s conference.

Minister for Health and Medical Services Mr Jone Usamate speaking to the General Practitioners (GPs).

The Minister for Health and Medical Services Mr. Jone Usamate welcomed the initiative of addressing mental health issues as the objective of the Fiji college of General Practitioners annual conference this year.

This advances the mission of the Health Ministry in assisting people to achieve their full health potential through the provision of preventative, curative and rehabilitative services.

Minister Usamate told delegates that the health ministry has been exploring effective means to collaborate with all stakeholders in the provision of a comprehensive mental health service.

To this effect, Mr. Usamate said that the National Mental Health Strategic Plan 2012-2016 has been aligned to the WHO Comprehensive Mental Health Action plan 2013-2020.

“Ministry of Health and Medical Services will continue to monitor, evaluate and review crucial laws, policies and regulations to ensure codes of practice and collaboration with mental health stakeholders is well advanced in Fiji,” Mr. Usamate said.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Health has introduced stress management wards in divisional hospitals and plans are formulated to introduce such services in the sub-divisional wards, with the training of the public health staff in the mhGap by the end of 2016.

Mr. Usamate also said that the GPs could be involved in the provision of health services in their sub-division to further enhance healthcare for the people.

The Ministry of Health and Medical Services is launching its annual Non-Communicable Disease screening month on Friday July 1. Even if you feel well, screening for NCDs like diabetes is the best way to find these diseases while they are easy to treat, before they become worse. Don’t delay, get checked today at your nearest helath facility!