Praneeta Prakash 
[Photo: FILE]
The Fiji College of General Practitioners is calling for a greater role for private doctors in delivering essential health services.
This comes as Fiji continues to face growing challenges from non-communicable diseases, HIV, tuberculosis and the drug crisis.
College Vice President Dr Dhirendra Lal says about 50 general practitioners are currently involved in public-private partnerships, with plans to increase that number to at least 100.
He says greater use of private GPs could improve access to sensitive services, including HIV testing.
“You are sitting in the outpatient, how many of you will walk into a doctor to say, Doc, I want to get my HIV tested? People will be more attached to GPs and we want this service to be shifted.”
Dr Lal says tuberculosis testing is another area where stronger public-private collaboration could make a difference.
“It’s very difficult to have a TB test done in a sputum test in the private sector. It costs a lot of money. So if the government can shift that to the private sector and have it done at low cost, we do the collection and things go to the lab.”
Former Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says private doctors can also play a key role in delivering primary healthcare and reducing pressure on public facilities.
“If we have that free GP scheme, which I understand has been somewhat reduced or retreated, I think that needs to be really expanded. I understand that new GPs aren’t being allowed to be put onto the scheme.”
General practitioners believe the private sector can provide greater support to the Government’s healthcare response.
However, they say proper contracting and sustainable funding models will be needed to make greater private sector involvement work.
