The country’s largest and oldest hospital, the Colonial War Memorial Hospital in Suva – CWMH celebrates 90 years of its existence next week.
With the theme “Celebrating 90 Years of Caring - and Beyond” the one-week program will feature Anniversary Lectures, and an Open-Day next Wednesday and Thursday for members of public. Celebrations will culminate with a Health Festival at Sukuna Park next Friday.
“Given that the festive season is also approaching, this one-week program aims to generate the public’s interest on the history of CWMH and will also advocate messages on the care of one’s health and the quality of life,” said Dr Jemesa Tudravu, Medical Superintendent of the CWMH.
“We are inviting the general public to come up at 2pm next Wednesday (and Thursday) to the Children’s Hospital, for guided tours around the entire Hospital.”
As part of the celebrations, the CWMH’s Board of Visitors is also organizing a Gala Dinner on Friday, 13 December at the Novotel in Lami. Funds raised from the ticket sales will go towards the construction of a waiting area for discharged patients.
The hospital was a War Memorial Hospital and replaced the Colonial Hospital which was first built in Levuka and relocated to Walu Bay in Suva in 1894.
When it opened its doors on 2nd December 1923, the initial main buildings were ferro-concrete, and contained an out-patient department, administration offices, ward accommodation for twenty-eight Europeans and eighty natives, kitchen, laundry, operating-room, X-Ray-room, clinical laboratory, nurses home and lecture-room.
It had 108 beds and 27 staff members of which 17 were European doctors and nurses and 10 were native nurses.
Today, CWMH has a total of 1117 staff of which 133 are doctors, 534 are nurses, 173 Paramedical and Management staff and a support team of 277.
The theme ''CWM Hospital – Celebrating 90 Years of Caring – and Beyond” depicts how the hospital has contributed to health care delivery and hospital services in Fiji with its past achievements, its present challenges and its journey forward.
-ENDS-