Fiji’s public health sector continues to face staffing challenges in remote areas as many nurses avoid outer island postings or leave for private hospitals and overseas employment.
Ministry of Health’s Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer Colleen Wilson said placing nurses in outer islands continued to be difficult because of safety concerns and limited resources.
“It’s very difficult posting nurses to the outer islands,” she said.
“Sometimes it’s really difficult to ask nurses to go to places like Moce, Komo, Cikobia, and Ono-i-Lau.”
She said the ministry continued to lose nurses to both overseas employment and private sector employment, further straining the system.
“We have nurses who have gone to join resorts, and those that have moved to private hospitals.”
The shortage has increased pressure on remaining staff, many of whom are required to cover extra shifts through overtime. She said while the ministry was recruiting new nurses through its internship program, vacancies remained a concern, particularly in remote facilities.
She said past incidents had shown the need for community support and the importance of safety.
“Ono-i-Lau was just a case lately, so we had to bring back the nurses.”
“We hope the community can look after them because it’s very difficult posting nurses to the outer islands.”
Ms Wilson added that balancing nurses’ personal preferences with service needs was also a challenge.
“They have their own preference where they want to go, but not necessarily where the service needs are.”
Efforts to fill vacancies and support staff are ongoing as the ministry works to strengthen healthcare services across Fiji.
