Nikhil Aiyush Kumar 
[Photo: File]
The Government says specialist health outreach services in the Western Division can continue even if Aspen Medical withdraws its outreach programme.
Health Minister Atonio Lalabalavu says the Ministry can deploy specialist teams from CWM Hospital when necessary to ensure patients in the West continue to access specialised services.
He was responding to Opposition MP Alvick Maharaj, who questioned whether Nadi Hospital would have enough consultants to maintain specialist outreach if Aspen ended its programme.
“If Aspen pulls out at the last minute, we can still send an outreach team from CWM, and outreach teams are specifically for specialist services.”
Lalabalavu says Lautoka-Aspen remains a referral hospital for the Western Division, while Government funding can be used to deploy specialist teams when required.
The Minister says the Government also intends to maximise the use of its existing health workforce in the West to maintain access to services.
Meanwhile, the Ministry is continuing to share knowledge with Aspen Medical facilities, including in clinical services, hospital operations and management.
Lalabalavu says the Ministry is studying the practices that helped Aspen Ba Hospital achieve Joint Commission International accreditation.
“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 on strengthening standards across public hospitals while ensuring communities continue to have access to specialist services.
