A political grouping in Fiji says hospitals are being supplied with inferior medical items from China and India in an effort to cut costs and it's having a direct impact on patients.
The United Front for a Democratic Fiji says on a recent visit to the Colonial War Memorial Hospital and Lautoka Hospital, staff complained of a lack of specialists, shortages of drugs, and imported equipment that can't be fixed by locals.
The UFDF's Mick Beddoes says staff are also burdened by poor quality items supplied by China and India.
Mr Beddoes says for example, doctors and nurses are buying their own plaster for use on patients because what's supplied falls off within minutes.
"I'm assuming saving costs will have something to do with it but at the end of the day if you're buying things that don't actually work why are we buying them? If they're no good for the patient then what's the use of getting them?"
Mick Beddoes.
The president of the Medical Association, Dr James Fong, says the Ministry of Health is trying to increase the quantity of items but has recently acknowledged the need to ensure quality.
