Six buildings at the Colonial War Memorial (CWM) Hospital have been declared “structurally unsafe and below World Health Organization standards, and need to be demolished or reconstructed,” while seven others are “structurally safe but need immediate repairs.”
These findings stem from an engineering assessment conducted in 2019, revealed in Expression of Interest (EOI) documents released by RPS Group, a consulting and engineering services company, for master planning services for CWM Hospital. This project is backed by the Government of Australia under its Fiji Program Support Facility (FPSF).
RPS Group is a division of Tetra Tech International Development Pty Ltd, contracted by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to manage the FPSF.
The EOI invitation, dated April 2, 2024, highlighted the ongoing deterioration of Fiji’s largest and most important healthcare facility, noting no major work has been undertaken since the 2019 assessment.
“The CWM Hospital is Fiji’s largest and main referral hospital. Located in Suva, the hospital encompasses 14 buildings, accommodates 535 beds, 31 wards, and 8 operating theatres,” it stated.
“In 2022, CWM Hospital handled 26,118 admissions, 6,771 births, and 316,446 outpatient visits. However, these figures are likely significantly underreported.
The engineering assessments found that six of the 14 buildings are “structurally unsafe & below World Health Organization standards, and need to be demolished or reconstructed,” while seven are “structurally safe but need immediate repairs.”
The findings also quoted a World Bank aide memoire dated October 2023, which observed that “many construction materials are experiencing rust and deterioration due to factors such as natural hazards (tropical cyclones, humidity, droughts), and seismic activity,” adding that “the older buildings lack consistent maintenance, impacting both healthcare services delivery and operational efficiency.”
“For the past two decades, the CWM Hospital has operated without a comprehensive Master Plan or a national or central division Clinical Services Plan,” the RPS EOI further stated.
“Consequently, the available data regarding hospital usage suffers from substantial gaps, rendering it unreliable for effectively managing both present and future healthcare requirements. This deficiency extends to the capacity to forecast demographic shifts and anticipate trends in disease patterns.”
The Australian Government stepped in to assist Fiji after a formal request in November last year by the Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS) to the Australian High Commission in Fiji.
Australia’s High Commissioner to Fiji, Ewen McDonald, announced that a company to lead the master plan work would soon be disclosed.
“We’re working very closely together on that to deliver an infrastructure master plan,” he said during a joint announcement with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Biman Prasad on Australia’s $87 million funding support under the upgraded Vuvale Partnership programme.
“We know how important that work is not only to the Deputy Prime Minister and the government but also to the people of Fiji. So I expect the company that will lead that work will be announced in the next few weeks. This will then initiate the project. It’s not a task that will be completed overnight, but it’s crucial that the master plan is done well.”
In March, Australia had announced a $14.7 million support to fund the CWMH master plan.