The Minister for Health and Medical Services, Dr. Atonio Lalabalavu, has raised significant concerns regarding the mass departure of healthcare professionals from Fiji’s Public Sector. During his address at the Free Medical Association Annual Scientific Conference, Dr. Lalabalavu emphasized that the global shortage of healthcare workers poses a serious threat to Fiji’s health workforce.
In response to this issue, the government has implemented various strategies. These include raising the retirement age from 55 to 60 years, addressing salary discrepancies among different roles, and approving salary increases for the entire civil service, benefitting both doctors and nurses.
Dr. Lalabalavu noted that since the start of 2023, these measures have effectively reduced the high turnover of healthcare workers that followed the COVID-19 pandemic, and he expressed hope that this positive trend will continue.
The government is also committed to supporting both local and international postgraduate training for healthcare professionals. Dr. Lalabalavu stressed the importance of building a skilled and motivated workforce, ensuring that the right individuals are in the right positions with the necessary skill sets, which is essential for delivering high-quality health services.
He also mentioned that the upcoming launch of the new National Development Plan is expected to provide fresh hope and direction for development in Fiji. The ministry aims to align its strategies with this new plan to create a resilient health system that embraces innovation and technology, offering high-quality, evidence-based health services contributing to the vision of a healthy population in Fiji.
Furthermore, Dr. Lalabalavu highlighted that enhancing health infrastructure has been a top priority for the Coalition Government since it took office. He emphasized that the government has been clear and intentional in its policy priorities, addressing the challenges facing healthcare through collaboration, innovation, and decisive actions to improve and enhance health services nationwide.