[Photo: FILE]

The Ministry of Health says X-ray services at the Korovou Hospital will be restored before year-end.

This follows growing concerns from Tailevu residents about the lack of medical imaging services.

The issue was raised during the Fijian Media Association’s Town Hall Forum in Korovou last night, where residents highlighted the hardship of having to travel outside the district for X-ray services.

In a statement following the forum, Assistant Minister for Health Penioni Ravunawa acknowledged the inconvenience patients faced and thanked the people of Tailevu for their patience.

Ravunawa says the shortage of Medical Imaging Technologists is part of a long-standing workforce challenge that the Coalition Government has been working to address over the past three years.

He says becoming a qualified Medical Imaging Technologist requires four years of university study followed by a compulsory 12-month internship at the CWM Hospital before graduates can be deployed within the Ministry.

The Assistant Minister says one of the key reforms has been the introduction of mandatory bonds for recipients of Government-funded scholarships to improve retention of health professionals.

He also says Fiji National University’s Medical Imaging and Medical Laboratory Science programmes are now recognised for professional registration in Australia and New Zealand.

While he says this is a significant achievement, Ravunawa acknowledges it has also increased demand for Fiji’s graduates overseas, making it more difficult to recruit and retain specialised health workers locally.

He says the Ministry is taking a broader approach to strengthening the health system by investing not only in workforce recruitment but also in infrastructure, staff accommodation, competitive remuneration, allowances, modern medical equipment and logistics across health facilities.

Ravunawa says restoring and strengthening services at Korovou Hospital remains a priority.

He says work is underway to complete upgrades to the hospital’s X-ray infrastructure and deploy the necessary personnel before the end of the year to meet patient demand.