A resident of Nausori stated that his child was not seen by the doctors at the Nausori Health Center because they were on a shift change.

Attorney General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says civil servants need to change their attitude towards their job.

Speaking during a budget consultation in Nausori, Sayed-Khaiyum highlighted that the level of commitment towards your job needs to be right.

He was responding to concerns raised by a resident of Nausori, who stated that his child was not seen by the doctors at the Nausori Health Center because they were on a shift change.

Sayed-Khaiyum says despite this being the case, the medical staff should have attended to the remaining two patients.

He adds that it is all about going the extra mile with their jobs.

“It’s an attitudinal issue, and that’s why constantly when we talk about getting the right people for the right job, making sure that people are disciplined, making sure that people do their job, if they don’t do their job – they should be disciplined. That’s the reason why we say that. And sometimes when we do say that, people get all up in arms. They thing once they become a civil servant, you don’t need accountability. You need to have accountability.”

Similar concerns were raised by residents of Sigatoka during consultations last weekend.

Sayed-Khaiyum says that is another reason why the government is outsourcing public health services to general practitioners so that minor ailments can be treated quickly without any hassle.

He also says that the government has been allocating a lot more money to the Ministry of Health to increase the number of doctors in the country.