Litia Cava 
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Lautoka Hospital has officially opened new high-tech health facilities, including a Cardiac Catheterization Lab, MRI Suite and an expanded Emergency Department.
The $11 million investment in state-of-the-art medical infrastructure is aimed at transforming healthcare across the Western Division and Fiji.
Aspen Medical CEO Gain Whiteside said this marks a turning point in how Fijians receive care faster, closer to home, and with global-standard equipment.
The Cath Lab will now allow real-time cardiac procedures such as angiograms and angioplasty to be performed in the Western Division for the first time.
Whiteside described it as a game-changer for heart care.
The hospital also now houses the Western Division’s first public MRI Suite.
Whiteside said patients from Rakiraki to Sigatoka no longer need to travel long distances for critical imaging of the brain, spine, and internal organs.
Emergency care has also been upgraded, with more fast-track beds, a climate-controlled waiting area and Fiji’s first negative-pressure isolation room.
Whiteside has acknowledged the government, Aspen partners, contractors and the community.
He said the new facilities bring Fiji closer to delivering world-class, patient-focused healthcare.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Professor Biman Prasad said the upgrades address years of neglect in both infrastructure and service delivery.
He acknowledged that the health system has long suffered from a backlog of unmet needs and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to improving healthcare at all levels.
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