The government is taking back control of dispensing outpatient medicines at Ba and Lautoka hospitals, arguing that the public-private partnership arrangement with Aspen Medical and Health Care Fiji was never meant to cover outpatient medicines and has become financially unsustainable for the state.
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Professor Biman Prasad said the Ministry of Health has now assumed responsibility for supplying outpatient medicines at the two facilities. Inpatients will continue to receive medicines and consumables through the hospitals, but outpatient medications will be provided by public dispensaries rather than through the hospital outpatient departments. He noted that the concession agreement signed by the previous government did not include outpatient medicines, meaning Aspen’s role covered outpatient drugs at a significant cost to the government.
To safeguard access during the transition, outpatient medicines are currently being dispensed through multiple channels in the Western Division, including the Western Health Divisional Office, Kamikamica Health Centre, Punjas Health Centre, a dispensary outside Ba Hospital, and private pharmacies participating in the Free Medicine Scheme. Government plans to establish additional dispensaries, with permanent facilities planned for Lautoka and Ba hospitals.
Last year, the minister announced a new pharmacopeia agreement with India to ensure basic medicines are delivered on time to all hospitals, health centres, and nursing stations, with the aim of reducing costs and improving availability. The government also said it would review the Fiji Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Services to make procurement and supply more efficient.
The renegotiation of the Ba-Lautoka PPP continues. Prasad recalled that the project began in 2019, bypassed the Ministry of Health, and lacked a formal demand study. He described the concession as a “blank cheque” for the concessionaire and criticized the prior political process that pushed Health Care Fiji into a dominant role without proper documentation of terms. He warned that the current arrangement, at about ten million dollars a month, was unsustainable and consuming a large portion of Fiji’s national health budget.
Negotiations with Health Care Fiji and Aspen Medical are ongoing, with talks focusing on potentially narrowing the scope of free medical services and introducing user-pays or means testing for more complex treatments. Officials emphasize that reform is needed to deliver a more reliable and affordable healthcare model across Fiji, while remaining committed to maintaining access to essential medicines for those who need them.
What this means for patients
– Outpatient medicines will be available through designated public dispensaries and participating private pharmacies in the Free Medicine Scheme, not directly from hospital outpatient departments.
– If you rely on outpatient medicines, check the nearest public dispensary or the participating private pharmacies in the Free Medicine Scheme.
– Inpatients will continue to receive medicines and consumables through the hospital, with plans to open permanent outpatient dispensaries at Lautoka and Ba.
– Ongoing negotiations with Aspen Medical and Health Care Fiji aim to refine the arrangement, potentially altering the balance between free coverage and user-pay options while safeguarding access.
Overall, the government says the move aligns with the concession terms and is a step toward a more efficient, transparent, and affordable medicine-supply system. The transition is part of broader reforms to stabilise medicine supply, expand the Free Medicine Scheme, and ensure essential drugs reach patients reliably.
Summary: Fiji is ending hospital-based outpatient dispensing at Ba and Lautoka in favor of public dispensaries and participating pharmacies, arguing the original PPP did not cover outpatient medicines and proving costly. With ongoing renegotiations and a new India-based pharmacopeia plan, the government aims to secure stable medicine access while exploring cost-saving reforms and potential user-pay elements for more complex treatments.
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