The Health Ministry says the situation will normalise in a few months after urns and kettles are being used to boil water at wards at the CWM Hospital and laundry services have been outsourced following the fire in May this year.

Firefighters work to extinguish the fire that destroyed the CWM laundry and boiler earlier this year

The fire destroyed the laundry on the ground floor and boiler in the basement.

People have raised concerns about there not being enough hot water to bathe babies.

Health Minister, Doctor Ifereimi Waqainabete says discussions are taking place around the long term outsourcing of laundry services including increasing the use of disposable linen and gowns and also the procurement of a new boiler.

It will take a few months to get the new boiler.

Waqainabete says there was due diligence done in terms of verifying a laundry service that would be able to provide the type of laundry service they need for hospitals and health centres.

He adds they were temporarily using Lautoka Hospital for laundry services until they could be able to find the appropriate laundry service that fits the needs for hospital and hygiene safety.

Waqainabete says they have done that and budgeted for it for the first six months and if it works well then they will be doing it again for the next six months.

He says laundry services have always been part and parcel of the hospital system and government service ever since the CWM Hospital was built.

Waqainabete says this offers them an opportunity to relook at the laundry service, do consultation and see whether they should rebuild their laundry or continue it as an outsourced service.

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