The revelation that the Government has opted to redevelop the Colonial War Memorial Hospital in stages instead of pursuing the proposed new national tertiary hospital at Valelevu will no doubt attract a lot of attention.
Apparently, the estimated $5.35 billion price tag is proving to be a major hurdle.
We learn that Cabinet endorsed the staged redevelopment of the existing CWM Hospital campus after considering the Preliminary Master Plan for the proposed Valelevu facility.
The Government says the proposed new hospital was estimated to cost about $A3.5 billion, or $F5.35 billion, with about $1.4 billion required for the first stage alone.
Given the significant upfront investment and limited financing commitments, Cabinet has decided that the next stages of planning will instead focus on redeveloping the existing CWM Hospital site.
The decision means the Government will proceed with a feasibility study and business case based on a staged redevelopment of CWM.
This approach would allow critical hospital infrastructure to be progressively upgraded while health services continue operating.
It also means investment can be spread across several budget cycles, while efforts continue to secure financing from development partners.
Planned investments, including oncology and radiotherapy infrastructure, can also be integrated into the redevelopment.
The Government believes this provides a more progressive pathway towards strengthening Fiji’s national tertiary health infrastructure.
Now that’s interesting because questions will no doubt be asked about how this is supposed to happen.
Given the fact that we have an operating hospital, upgrading work will obviously have to factor in the need for operations to be maintained, while making room for the challenges that will accompany such a major undertaking.
It stands to reason then that consideration would have to be given to infrastructure development while maintaining the functions of the hospital.
That would be a major challenge, with its own set of complexities.
What matters though would have to be the need for a major upgrade.
That is what is expected in this case. CWMH has faced years of under-investment and deferred maintenance, while assessments have identified serious infrastructure concerns.
We have been taking things far too slowly.
What we need now is some sense of urgency to bring CWMH up to international standards, address its longstanding woes, and ensure it is ready to serve the people.
The funding challenge may have changed the destination, but it must not delay the journey.
Let’s face it. Fijians deserve a hospital that works for patients, staff and the nation.
