Members of thpublic gathered in numbers at Sukuna Park and joined staff of the Colonial War Memorial War Hospital (CWMH) in Suva to celebrate the hospital’s 90th anniversary today.
The celebration was an opportune time for the hospital’s staff to look back at the achievements since its opening on 2nd December, 1923.
Speaking at the celebration, the Ministry of Social Welfare, Women and Poverty Alleviation permanent secretary, Dr Josefa Koroivueta said over the nine decades the hospital had experienced an increase in the scope and range of services it provided to the public along with the expansion of its infrastructure.
“Being the main tertiary health care referral hospital for the nation, specialist clinical services has expanded and continues to do so with highly specialized equipment and medical items added into the hospitals armament – both as donations from individuals and donor organization, as well as through the annual capital purchases of the Ministry of Health,” Dr Koroivueta said.
Dr Koroivueta said that specialized patient care services such as interventional cardiology, urology, and neurosurgery, oncology for adults and children, and advanced orthopaedic surgery are now offered to patients.
“The availability of well-trained Fijian health professionals and the acquisition of state of the art medical equipment combined with strategic partnership with health providers abroad have ensured that a high standard of services is delivered to the members of the public when they come to CWM Hospital.”
He also highlighted the renewed focus by government and the Health Ministry to improve the delivery of quality health services in public hospitals around Fiji.
“At CWM Hospital, this has come in the form of the acquisition of sophisticated medical equipment such as the CT Scan, MRI Scan and the EEG machine to improve the investigation and treatment of patients,” Dr Koroivueta said.
“The government had outfitted all major hospitals in Fiji including CWMH with new laundry machines in 2009 for $3.6 million, and purchased and distributed new patient monitoring equipment in 2010 for the cost of $3.2 million dollars.”
This has ensured the effective and efficient provision of clinical services at the hospital.
“Old vehicles were replaced with new ones in 2009 and 2010, and the infrastructure has been maintained and upgraded with new additions and extension to facilitate the delivery of services in a safe, patient friendly environment,” Dr Koroivueta said.
This year government allocated $9.9 million for the refurbishment of the operating theatres and Intensive Care Unit at CWM Hospital.
“For 2014, government has allocated more than $8 million funding for infrastructure development at CWM Hospital which includes the construction of a 200+ bedded new Maternity Hospital. These are clear indications of government’s commitment to the health and well-being of the people of Fiji,” Dr Koroivueta added.
The Colonial War Memorial hospital was built as a memorial for those who served in the 1st World War and opened by the then Governor of Fiji, Sir Cecil Rodwell.
The old 70 bed CWM hospital was replaced with the new 108 bedded facility after government decided that there was an urgent need for a new hospital.
The CWM hospital now boasts 486 bed facility manned by more than 1200 staff members.
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