Shine A Light: Mothers Plead For Maternity Care

Mothers fear that the poor condition of the facilities at the Colonial War  Memorial Hospital Maternity Ward leaves them  susceptible to  infections and injuries.

In particular, the state of the bathrooms and toilets in the ward, which has been heavily scrutinized on social media.

A Facebook post by Judy Compain on January 17, 2023, showed pictures of the mold-infested and dilapidated bathrooms and toilets.

These were widely shared on social media. Ms Compain is the president of the International Women’s Association (IWA).

“The bathrooms are in much worse condition than in 2018 and look like there could be a serious outbreak of infection, if there hasn’t been already one,” Ms Compain wrote on Facebook.

Maternity care needs to be paramount in any country. It reflects the Government’s appreciation towards mothers in Fiji.

Sadly, this is not the case for the CWMH Maternity Ward, despite millions of dollars pumped into Fiji’s health sector every year.

The mothers we spoke to unanimously agreed that the state and condition of the bathrooms and toilets had deteriorated over the years.

When we had visited the Maternity Ward, it was clear that no renovation work had been carried out.

The bathrooms were infested with molds. In one bathroom, the sink was broken, cartons were used as door mats, there were no shower curtains, and there were cracks and openings on the ceiling.

Responding to questions, Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong said the ministry of was aware of the maintenance needs of the hospital.

The state of the bathrooms and toilets inside the Maternity Ward at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital on January 25, 2023. Photos: Ivamere Nataro

“At one time there was no water supply, mosquitoes, pests, rodents, the heat (due to ceiling fans or air-conditioner either faulty or not able to accommodate the patients in a ward).”

She said the ward needed a complete face-lift, the delivery rooms, wards, washrooms, and even staff need a proper comfortable rest area since they did 12-hour shifts.

Responding to questions on the use of the allocated budget, Dr Fong said initially some funds were utilised for preparatory works including demolition of old sisters’ quarters, clearance of the site, and early civil works.

“Thereafter, funds allocated were diverted towards meeting the shortfalls in operational allocations mainly relating to the COVID Emergency Response for the past two years,” he said.

“This year we could not use the funds because of significant delays in tender and other related processes. Processes that were not within the Ministry’s control. As such the funds have been returned to the Ministry of Finance for redeployment.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S ASSOCIATION 

Ms Compain said the IWA was committed to ensuring a clean, decent, and safe bathroom for every woman who goes to the CWMH maternity ward.

“The Ministry of Health is yet to acknowledge that we have some very serious issues in our maternity hospital bathrooms that need to be addressed urgently because of the statement by the Permanent Secretary that the photos we posted were taken a few years ago,” she said.

Ms Compain has outlined to Dr Fong the intentions of the IWA to undertake complete renovations and upgrade of both the CWMH maternity and the children’s hospitals bathrooms.

“We are very interested in what the Aid Agencies have to say about the conditions of these bathrooms and the general state of our hospitals given there are millions of dollars provided to Fiji to support Health annually.

“Also of interest is what the agencies who are here to help specifically support women and health are doing in this space?”

For the past four years, IWA has provided hospitals and health centers with pregnancy test kits.

Since the Facebook post went viral, IWA has received offers from corporate organisations, and donations have been received from as far as the United Kingdom.

Feedback: ivamere.nataro@fijisun.com.fj