Proposal to build a new national hospital is now underway, said Minister for Finance, Prof Biman Prasad.
He said with the support of the Government of Australia and other development partners, Fiji has taken considerable steps forward to deliver a roadmap for a new national hospital.
“A new hospital takes much planning. It has to be informed by proper planning to ensure that what is built can serve the needs of Fiji, and the broader Pacific region, for decades to come,” he said.
“The Clinical Services Plan developed as part of this planning provides projections for health needs over the coming 10, 20 and 30 years.”
‘This Plan is now complete, and we know that the new hospital will be larger and will have expanded health services.”
“We will need to increase the bed capacity from the current 453 beds at Fiji’s largest CWM hospital to 703 beds.”
“We need to cater for new services based on our disease profile and projections. We need to make provisions to cater for the needs of the broader Pacific region too as this will also serve as a regional hospital.”
Prof Prasad added the whole project will be costly and very expensive to the tune of almost $2 billion dollars.
“But we are committed to getting this done with the support of our development partners and multilateral financiers like the World Bank and Asian Development Bank.”
“We are currently focused on determining the most appropriate location for Fiji’s new national hospital.”
“We are committed to moving the hospital out of the CBD and to a more accessible location for the people of the greater Suva-Nausori area. Seven sites are currently under investigation, including Davuilevu, Tamavua, Raiwaqa, Samabula, Valelevu, Nabua and the existing CWM site.”
