Nikhil Aiyush Kumar 
[Photo: FILE]
The Ministry of Health is aiming to have at least one public hospital in Fiji meet internationally recognised standards.
Health Minister Atonio Lalabalavu says the Ministry is studying practices at Aspen Medical facilities in the Western Division, including Aspen Ba Hospital, which has received the Joint Commission International Gold Seal approval.
“Aspen Ba Hospital has achieved the international gold standard in the gold seal approval for Joint Commission JCI. That is something the Ministry aspires to have that kind of standard as well in one of our hospitals.”
Lalabalavu says the accreditation is internationally recognised and currently unique in the Pacific.
He says the Ministry wants to understand the systems and practices behind the accreditation and assess how these can be applied in the public health system.
“We are working in collaboration on the best practices on how they are achieved. And probably we can achieve it as well for one of our hospitals within Fiji.”
The Minister says the focus is not simply on obtaining the accreditation, but on adopting best practices in clinical services, hospital operations and management.
He says knowledge sharing between Aspen facilities and public hospitals is already taking place through the clinical services network.
The initiative forms part of broader efforts to improve the quality and efficiency of services delivered through Fiji’s public hospitals.
