With all of the disasters of COVID-19 coming at Fiji incredibly hard, it was time to get a site together so everyone could see how we Fijians are getting the short end of the stick with our healthcare. Our experience with COVID-19 has been incredibly different than other countries worldwide as we haven’t had the healthcare system to withstand the pandemic. Now, we are suffering thousands of deaths. This problem was supposed to be solved when the Fiji Government signed a deal with Aspen Medical to not only take over two of our biggest hospitals but also upgrade them with cutting-edge technology that would be pivotal for the health of our people. Although a deal was signed, Aspen Medical has been slow in it’s promises and is completely failing us. Our failed hospital system is something they are now responsible for.
In the deal, Aspen Medical was to take over Lautoka and Ba hospital operations. The cutoff was June 2021 to have both hospitals up and running, fully operational but that is in fact, not what happened. In May of 2021, Lautoka hospital was SHUT DOWN during the surge in COVID cases due to the hospital’s inability to support the climbing number of cases. The Ba hospital recently celebrated its opening in mid-2022. What was there to celebrate? A hospital that was supposed to be ready to go during the pandemic opening YEARS after it?
Aspen Medical planned to ‘fix’ Lautoka hospital, starting with offering 305 hospital beds and providing appropriate support to service delivery until further substantial renovations or rebuilding can be undertaken. The foreign healthcare system blames the Fiji border closures for its failures in getting the two leading hospitals up and running. Their failure caused surrounding hospitals to carry the burden and were frankly overrun with patients needing care.