The Ministry of Health and Medical Services says there is a duty roster for staff at the Makoi Health Centre to ensure there is at least one doctor, nurse practitioner or staff nurse available to attend to patients at all times during normal opening hours.
We sought this clarification from the ministry after a woman expressed concern to Fijivillage over the Makoi Health Centre lunch hour closure, which left her 2-year-old sick daughter without assistance for more than one hour.
The parent claims that the health centre in Makoi was closed at 12.40pm Monday, which is 20 minutes earlier than their normal lunch hour at 1pm.
She claims she requested them to see her daughter just before they were closing, but she was told that all the patients wanted to be the “last one to be seen” before they closed.
The ministry says on weekdays, the General Outpatient services normally cease at 9.30pm but staff remain available to deal with any emergencies until the centre closes at 10pm.
The centre only operates a single eight‑hour shift from 8am to 4pm on weekends.
The ministry says the public is advised that delays for routine consultations can occur in cases where the medical staff are required to focus on more urgent cases.
It says people are advised that if they are concerned with the length of waiting time at any particular health centre, or any other aspect of the centre services, they should ask to speak to a senior member of staff on duty.
The ministry says if the issues cannot be resolved locally then they should contact the Ministry of Health headquarters.
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