Aust, NZ Team Start Work

The Australia and New Zealand Medical Assistance Team has begun its work with the Ministry of Health and Medical Services in a bid to restore services in the country’s main hospital.

The team had completed their mandatory quarantine period in Nadi on Tuesday and is now in Suva to begin their work on the ground.

The team will be in Fiji for four weeks.

Team leader Dr Brian Spain said the request for support on the restoring of services at the Colonial War memorial Hospital was specifically from the Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong and the Fijian health officials.

“We know from our discussions in the past few days those plans are in place for that to happen so there has already been a lot of preparation occurring in this and we will be going in to support and strengthen,” Dr Spain said.

“In the next couple of weeks when everyone believes it is ready and different areas of the hospital are prepared, we will work alongside the workers in CWM to make it a hospital that covid and non-covid patients can access the facility and use the service that are only available at CWM,” he said.

“We have a lot of practical expertise in areas that have worked for us, and we are keen to focus on Infection Protection Control in particular in supporting the staff at CWM on how we can work with them and the Ministry Of Health to restore functions at the Hospital.

“We will also work with them to strengthen the Infection Prevention Control in other health centres across the whole country.”

He said the team was also helping the Fiji Medical Assistance Team (FEMAT) with logistics issues.

“Our logistician will be able to do a lot of work with them, the setting up of sterilization, the cleaning and decontamination, he has a lot of expertise in that area that could support.”

Permanent Secretary for Health and Medical Services Dr James Fong said: “We have escalated our plans to get CWM functioning again with the AUSMAT forward team we have in country at present, and we look forward to that in the recent days and weeks.”

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