Health

FEMAT a milestone achievement for Fiji: Dr Waqainabete

May 14, 2019 4:29 pm

Fiji is the first country in the Pacific to receive formal verification as an international Emergency Medical Assistance Team by the World Health Organization.

Health Minister, Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete says FEMAT will provide a range of medical and emergency services for up to 100 patients per day.

Dr Waqainabete says EMT’s are designed to respond quickly – being deployed to an impacted area with days or hours to treat immediate needs following a disaster.

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“What it means is that we are now accredited worldwide in times of disaster – to be able to deploy whether nationally or internationally because we are accredited and set up a field hospital to look after patients. For this to happen – there’s been quite a fair bit of investment.”

The World Health Organization says Fiji has been grouped as a Type 1 Fixed EMT – operating from a fixed structure.

The team will comprise of four doctors, eleven nurses, one pharmacist, an environmental health officer and three logisticians.

There are currently twenty-five internationally verified EMTs globally, with a mixture of response capabilities.

Fiji is the 26th EMT to receive formal verification.