The Fiji Emergency Medical Assistance Team (FEMAT) Field Hospital at the Vodafone Arena has a 124-bed capacity, with a resus and trauma area and a separate isolation facility.

FEMAT Field Hospital Obstetrics and Gynecologist Dr Viliame Nasila said the wards were manned by eight nurses per shift, with Emergency Department doctors assessing patients who had been referred to them from health facilities around the Suva to Nausori area.

“The Field Hospital also has specialist doctors from internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics and eye departments who attend to patients requiring specialist care,” he said.

“Currently the facility has 124-bed capacity. 100 in the Vodafone Arena, which are the stretcher beds, 14 beds in the resus and trauma area and 10 beds in the isolation facility.”

The FEMAT Field Hospital is only receiving emergency cases referred to from other health facilities.

“The facility is divided into two, the Emergency Department isolation facility and the admission facility,” the doctor said.

“All patients that come through the facility are grouped by their COVID-19 test status.

“The FEMAT Field Hospital facility has adopted pathways to process patients coming into the facility.

“If patients are coming from a health facility, they are required to have COVID-19 test results of which determine their pathway for admission.”

Patients who come in either from home or a health facility without having a COVID test result, are referred to an isolation facility where they are tested and await the COVID test results.

“Apart from the tests, there is history taken from patients on whether they had any sort of contact with any COVID positive patient and with such information, a risk assessment is done on the patient. This process ensures that patients admitted to the facility are COVID negative on admission,” the doctor said.