The Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI) has been incorporated into the undergraduate-nursing programme to prepare nurses with relevant knowledge and skills in the area of childcare and treatment.
This will strengthen nurses’ competency level in their one-year internship period.
IMCI is the application of clinical guidelines for the integrated case management of sick children aged five years and younger. It was implemented in all six health centres in the Central Division since 1997 but was only carried out by doctors and not nurse.
This latest development means nurses are certified to diagnose diseases among children below five years and can medically treat children to take the load off doctors.
The provision of IMCI services from nursing station level will mean, travelling miles to get to the doctor for our children five-years- old and younger, particularly in the remote/rural areas will be a worry of the past.
Ministry of Health continues to train and certify nurses to deliver this service, most of whom will operate from Nursing Stations, Health Centres and Sub-divisional Hospital General Out-patients Departments.
IMCI medications and medical consumables are readily made available at nursing station level and the Fiji Pharmaceutical & Biomedical Services is working hard to facilitate the distribution of relevant supplies.
The roll-out of this programme will be facilitated in phases beginning in the Central and Northern Divisions from mid-September and this will be followed by the Western and Eastern Divisions respectively by the end of October.
Members of the public, particularly in the Central & Northern Divisions, are advised to visit your nearest nursing station or health center to seek medical assistance for your 0 to 5 year old children for any childhood illness.
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