Patients referred from public hospitals to private clinics for x-rays need not to pay for services. [File Photo]

Patients referred from public hospitals to private clinics for x-rays need not to pay for services.

Health Minister Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete made this comment after some Fijians claimed they had to pay for x-ray services at private clinics as the service weren’t available in public hospitals.

These cases surfaced from the Western Division especially in Lautoka and Ba.

Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete says the installation of the new x-ray machines in the Lautoka and Ba hospitals is yet to be completed.

“If anyone is being asked to pay for an x-ray, they shouldn’t. Please contact us on our toll line or via email and we’ll deal with it. We are using the private sector as our back up. Oceania hospital is our back up for CT scan and also they don’t have an MRI, so they use our MRI.”

He clarified that some hospitals are using the old system.

“Certainly in places they have some challenges with radiology x-rays at the moment, it is likely that they are using the old system and that would be once we finished installing all the systems in place would be something of the past.”

The Minister is calling on Fijians to liaise with the Ministry should they require any assistance with certain services.