800 vacant positions will be filled – Fong

Most of the 800 nursing posts left vacant by migrating nurses will be filled by the end of this financial year, says Ministry of Health permanent secretary Dr James Fong.

He says the positions of nurses who left last year should be filled by the end of this financial year.

The loss included nurses who joined the Aspen Hospitals in Lautoka and Ba. Dr Fong said that based on the feedback he received, most of the positions had been filled.

“The way we are working is by the end of this financial year, those vacant positions, we should be able to promote people.

“So we end up with all the junior roles filled by the graduates as they come up through the ranks,” Dr Fong said.

“We do expect that most of it will be filled, close to 80 or 90 per cent of the vacant positions will be filled by the end of the year.”