The Fiji Medical and Dental Council and Secretariat today opened the doors to their new office.

Council Chair and Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says this opening promotes the idea that doctors need to be empowered to provide self-regulatory mechanisms that allow them to oversee the evolution of their standards of care.

Dr. Fong says both doctors and dentists in many other countries have made that a goal that they aspire to and maintain.

He says this opening is the result of the culmination of hard work over a number of years.

“We hope that this will be the beginning for us to move forward into being able to become functionally autonomous. None of these concepts of doctors or the dentists or all the medical cadre doing self-regulatory management of their standards is are easy to implement, the take time and they evolve.”

Dr. Fong says the new office space for the Medical Council is a new phase in the evolution of Fiji’s medical services and represents the strengthened means by which they can provide our own self–regulation.

Management Board Chair, Doctor Eric Rafai says with the opening of this building, young doctors will know that there is a council that looks at their affairs and ensuring that standards and practices are maintained.