A CABINET paper proposing important structural and service changes at St Giles Hospital is currently being prepared.
Speaking about the initiative, the hospital’s Director of Nursing, Miliakere Nasorovakawalu said a review of the hospital’s existing structure and services had been long overdue.
“The policy, the changes, they must come with resources,” she said.
“And right now, we have only minimal resources. That’s one of the key issues.”
Ms Nasorovakawalu stressed the need for innovative leadership to make the best use of limited resources.
“We need innovative leaders. With the limited resources we have, how can we turn things around?
“For example, we’ve got the space at St Giles. That’s what we’ve used.”
St Giles Hospital is currently Fiji’s only dedicated psychiatric facility, but Ms Nasorovakawalu acknowledged the challenges the hospital faced, including ongoing stigma around mental health.
“What we did was try to change the environment. We did renovations. It’s not a huge step, but it’s a start.”
Highlighting the next steps, Ms Nasorovakawalu said: “Our current goal, I’ve been involved in Cabinet Paper Policy writing, is to push for a structural change at St Giles Hospital.”
She adds that her team hads been tasked with preparing the Cabinet paper, which will be shared with relevant stakeholders and submitted for Government’s consideration.
“We’ve already received directives from another ministry. This paper will be submitted to Cabinet.
“We want a full review of the structure and the services at St Giles Hospital.”
She says the Cabinet paper is expected to outline key recommendations for improving mental health services and strengthening the hospital’s capacity to meet growing demand in Fiji.
