A new bond of friendship was formed with a rewarding experience for the Fiji Emergency Medical Assistance Team (FEMAT) in Lautoka.

The team included government ministry staff, civil society organisations and health staff who had been working at the field hospital since Lautoka Hospital went into lockdown.

They are expected to wrap up operations once Lautoka Hospital reopens.

Head of the FEMAT and Acting Superintendent of the Colonial War Memorial Hospital, Doctor Luke Nasedra described the experience of serving in Lautoka a challenging yet rewarding one.

“It has been wonderful, challenging, rewarding, a good learning opportunity given the fact that this is the first ever operation of this magnitude,” Dr Nasedra said.

“New bonds were formed.

“This was a whole government approach with 52 personnel from 16 government ministries and civil organisations’ apart from the health team who made up the 126 total staff for this deployment.”

He said the team faced their fair share of challenges such as operating in a tent facility with adverse weather conditions, long working hours and being away from families.

“We overcame this by the fact that many of these government ministries and civil organisations have been part of this fight from the very beginning.”

He said the message of team work had always been reiterated to his team daily and to expect that the operation might not only end there but they would be required elsewhere.

He said 96 percent of the team had not gone through FEMAT training, but did extremely well and above expectations.

He said while the team would be departing next week, the experiences and bonds they shared would be cherished.

Dr Nasedra added that they were advised by the Permanent Secretary for Health and Medical Services that the team would be required to set up in Suva considering the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the Central Division.

Edited by Losirene Lacanivalu

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