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The Fiji Nursing Association has this afternoon warned that patient care and staff wellbeing at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital in Suva are under serious pressure.

This comes as the Ministry of Health prepares to introduce 12-hour shifts for nurses from Monday in an effort to manage staffing gaps.

FNA General Secretary Filomena Talawadua claims the country’s largest hospital is operating with hundreds of nursing vacancies still unfilled, creating a crisis in frontline healthcare delivery.

“At the moment, we have about 2,251 nurses working, but there are more than 650, almost 700 vacant positions that remain unfilled. As long as those vacancies exist, there is a crisis, and it must be addressed because we are dealing with unsafe nurse-to-patient ratios.”

Talawadua says the shortage is already being felt in high-dependency units, where nurses are managing far more patients than recommended standards.

“In one high-dependency unit, there should be about 45 nurses, but currently there are only 24. That unit is looking after 30 to 40 patients per shift, including patients on trolleys and even sitting in corridors for more than 24 hours. That is a dangerously unsafe situation.”

She warns that without urgent recruitment and stronger retention measures, the situation will continue to put both patients and nurses at risk.

“Even before the 12-hour shift, nurses are already exhausted, working overtime, double shifts, and coming in on their days off. This level of fatigue puts both staff and patients at risk, and it is something we cannot ignore.”

The FNA says addressing the staffing shortage must be the priority, as hospitals continue to operate under sustained pressure and strain.
Questions have been sent to the Ministry of Health.