A senior citizen claims he was rudely turned away by a staff member of the Colonial War Memorial Hospital (CWMH) on Wednesday.
William Holmes said he had felt unwell when he awoke and decided to seek medical attention.
The 78-year-old said he left his Nabua home in Suva and boarded a bus which took him directly to the CWMH.
He said when he walked up to the entrance, he was met by a staff member who spoke harshly to him for coming to the hospital.
“I had just walked up the stairs to the entrance and she blasted me, she was very angry and told me to go to the Samabula Health Centre,” he said.
“She and another male staff member were sitting in the tent, he did nothing when she was telling me off.
“She didn’t even seem concerned with why I was coming to the hospital nor did she give me a reason why I could not be seen by a doctor, she just screamed at me.”
He said the CWMH was more convenient for him as he only needed to catch one bus to get there and said the woman’s behaviour was uncalled for.
“This sort thing casts a shadow on the good work being done by the Ministry of Health and the Government to protect people from this virus.”
Ministry of Health permanent secretary Dr James Fong said rude behaviour when dealing with patients was unacceptable.
“There is no excuse for rude behaviour of any sort in dealing with patients and I will take this up with the medical superintendent at CWM,” he said.
He also reminded members of the public that the CWMH was open for all emergency services only.
“The CWM general outpatient department services have been closed for a long time and all those services were put out to all the health centres around Suva.”
