Aspen Medical Lying, Says Chaudhry

Fiji Labour Party Leader Mahendra Chaudhry has accused Aspen Medical - Fiji of providing a false and misleading response to his report on the state of the emergency department at Lautoka Hospital.

Chaudhry, who visited the hospital on April 10, 2025, claims that only one doctor was on duty when he arrived, and he observed a 7-year-old child who had been waiting for medical attention since 9:00 AM that morning. According to Chaudhry, the child had still not been seen by a doctor by the time he left the hospital at around 4:00 PM.

In his original post on Labour's Facebook page, Chaudhry described a concerning scene where patients had been waiting for several hours, some since early morning, with little to no medical attention. He pointed out that, despite the high number of waiting patients, there was only one doctor on duty in the afternoon, calling the situation "completely unacceptable", especially given the involvement of young children.

In response to Chaudhry's Facebook post, Aspen Medical issued a statement through the Fiji Times on April 14, disputing his claims.

An Aspen Medical spokesperson, who for some strange reason was not named, said the hospital’s emergency department (ED) had the services of seven clinicians, including three doctors and four intern doctors.

“The ED also operates a fast-track category for critically ill patients, supported by a dedicated team comprising a doctor, an intern doctor, and a specialist nurse — a total of three clinicians specifically assigned to this area,” the spokesperson said.

“Between 7am and 6.15pm, the ED triaged 123 patients.

“Triage in a hospital setting is a systematic process of sorting patients according to the urgency of their condition to ensure the most critical cases receive immediate attention.”

The company disputed Mr Chaudhry’s claim that a young boy lying outside the ED from 3.30pm had not been treated since 9am.

However, Chaudhry remains adamant that Aspen’s version of events is misleading.

He stood by his original report, asserting that no adequate medical care had been provided during his visit.

He accused Aspen of trying to downplay the severity of the situation, particularly with regard to the long waiting times at both Lautoka and Ba Aspen Hospitals.

“A waiting time of seven hours is totally unacceptable, especially when little children are involved,” said Chaudhry.

He compared the situation at Lautoka Hospital with his visit to Ba Aspen Hospital, where he spoke to a man who had waited from 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM to see a doctor.

Chaudhry further criticised the Fiji Times for failing to contact him for comment before running Aspen’s response, which he claims violated media ethics.

He noted that, despite the critical issues raised by his post, the Fiji Times did not include Labour’s original Facebook posting or provide him with an opportunity to respond to Aspen’s statement.

The post on Labour's Facebook page received close to 700 comments, many of which echoed Chaudhry's concerns, with multiple commenters sharing their own experiences of long waiting times at Aspen Hospitals in both Lautoka and Ba.

Chaudhry highlighted these comments as further evidence of the ongoing issues within Fiji’s healthcare system, pointing out that many people are frustrated by the lack of sufficient staffing and resources.

Chaudhry concluded that the public has every right to be concerned about the declining state of Fiji’s healthcare facilities.

He called for a more serious and transparent approach to addressing the issues within the national healthcare system, especially as the two Aspen hospitals in Lautoka and Ba are relatively well-financed compared to other public hospitals.

“Aspen has the resources, but they are not being used efficiently to address the needs of the Fijian people,” Chaudhry said. “We expect better services from hospitals that are supposed to be leading the way in providing quality healthcare.”