Patients and their families at Navua Hospital are grappling with a worsening water shortage, forcing some to endure days without reliable access to water and raising serious concerns over hygiene and patient care.
Inside the maternity ward, the crisis has become part of daily life.
Patient Ateca Cagimaiwasa, who has been admitted since Monday, said the lack of water during the day has made even basic tasks a struggle.
“The main issue in this hospital is the water – in the daytime we don’t have water,” she said.
According to Ms Cagimaiwasa, water only becomes available at night – typically between 7pm and 8pm – and even then, the pressure is weak.
Patients are left with no choice but to queue at taps after dark, sometimes for up to an hour, to fill containers for the next day.
“We have to fill water from the tap in the bathroom at night and use it during the day,” she said.
For drinking water, patients must spend their own money.
“We have to buy our own bottled water from town.”
The shortage has taken a toll on hygiene, with patients waking as early as 5am to bathe before the limited supply runs out.
In some cases, the same stored water is used for multiple purposes – including bathing, drinking, and flushing toilets – when running water is unavailable.
She said the situation has remained unchanged since her admission.
“It has been like this since I came in on Monday.”
Other families said the situation is distressing.
Parent Samantha Nacewa, whose child is admitted, said conditions have become unbearable, forcing them to leave the hospital just to access basic sanitation.
“We went home to have a shower and also used the toilet at home,” she said.
“The filth in the pan was all the way up to the toilet bowl.”
Adding to the concern, several water tanks on the hospital grounds remain empty and unused, highlighting the severity of the supply issues.
Patients and families are now calling for urgent intervention, warning that the ongoing water crisis is affecting the entire facility and putting health and wellbeing at risk.
In response to questions on the matter, Health Minister Dr Ratu Atonio Lalabalavu referred all queries to the Water Authority of Fiji.
WAF had not responded when this edition went to press.
