Fiji’s National Kidney Centre in Nadera is back in operation following the completion of repair works on its Reverse Osmosis machines, likewise the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine at the Colonial War Memorial, but not the Vunisea Hospital mortuary and as a result people in Kadavu have been advised to bury their dead as soon as possible excepts deaths that stem from suspected foul play.
In an advisory the Ministry of Health attributed the closure of the mortuary to mechanical breakdowns, and as such activated a burial support team in the medical area to help coordinate any escalated burial needs.
“In cases of suspected foul play, the body of the deceased will be handled by police who will then send bodies to Suva for postmortem,” the ministry said.
The ministry further reassured the people of Kadavu that the facility should be back in operation by next week Friday, 20 May.
Meanwhile, in carrying out repairs of the machines at the NKC by way of flying in experts from overseas, the ministry also used the opportunity to train and licensed seven local biomedical technicians to provide the needed backup. At CWM, the MRI machines will be operational during weekdays and on the weekends, serve emergency cases only.
The ministry in the same statement hinted at the possibility of such “teething problems” happening again as the ministry attempts to re-establish normal operations.
“One of the biggest difficult[ies] in sustaining our post covid health recovery program relates to difficulties faced with the adverse impact of impaired supply chains on the supply of equipment and equipment parts the related maintenance programs.”
