Health Minister Doctor Atonio Lalabalavu with Nasea Health centre staff

The Ministry of Health continues working on avenues to mitigate the shortage of nurses and doctors at the Nasea Health Center in Labasa town, considering the recent plans and discussions for the facility to be expanded.

Health Minister Doctor Atonio Lalabalavu says that the issue of staff shortage is nothing new since it’s now a chronic issue that the Ministry continues to deal with in all hospitals and health centres.

However, he says that with the Nasea Health Center being an ideal spot located in town, the other private practitioners and pharmacies could assist patients in seeking medical services when the need arises.

“In our last visit here earlier in February, we did two sets of registrations for free medicine schemes, and that was well received by the public, so again, it’s centrally located, so in terms of mitigating shortages of nurses and doctors, we have avenues that we can send our patients to because it’s within the vicinity of the health centre.”

Doctor Lalabalavu adds that the ministry also has plans for the maintenance of the Labasa main hospital, but funds will depend on the upcoming financial year.

The Nasea Health Center currently has 20 nurses and seven doctors that look after more than 200 patients daily.