Annual report / Medical Department, Fiji.

  • Fiji. Medical Department
Date:
[1949]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report / Medical Department, Fiji. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    7/38 page 7
    IV—SEAPORT AND AIRPORT HEALTH AND QUARANTINE. 59. Suva, Lautoka and Levuka are the three ports of entry in the Colony for overseas ships, with Suva the only port of entry for ships from malarial ports. Aeroplanes use the airports at Nadi and Nausori and flying boats land at Laucala Bay. During 1949 the total numbers of ships arriving at these ports from overseas were as follows:— Ships. Aircraft. Suva 77 Nadi 732 Lautoka .. 10 Nausori 29 — Laucala Bay .. 83 87 844 60. Nadi, as the Colony’s main airport, handled the bulk of the traffic during the year. 12,623 passengers, including 2,275 landing passengers and crew members totalling 5,444, were examined there. There is a Medical Officer stationed at Nadi Airport and a Health Inspector, who assists in the fumigation of aircraft, anti-mosquito measures and general sanitary measures. Aircraft from malarial places are required to land at either Nadi or Laucala Bay and may use Nausori only in exceptional circumstances. Strict precautions are taken with such aircraft, the Medical Officer of Health, Suva, being required to attend in the case of aircraft landing at Laucala Bay. 61. Twenty-six overseas vessels and 47 local vessels were fumigated by the use of cyanide during the year. 62. The Medical Officer of Health and Health Inspectors inspected the quarantine islands of Nukulau and Makuluva periodically during the year. These islands were satisfactorily main¬ tained, the launch Vuniwai ni Toba making regular trips to service them. 63. On 30th April, m.v. Orna arrived from Calcutta via Singapore with 461 passengers. She reported that two cases of chickenpox had been landed at Singapore on 10th April, and on examination four other cases of chickenpox were found. Certificates of smallpox vaccination and cholera inoculation were held by all passengers and checked on arrival. The vessel was subse¬ quently fumigated by cyanide. V—MATERNITY AND CHILD WELFARE. 64. Infant mortality figures are given in Appendix V and the graph attached to this appendix shows the birth and death rates of Fijian and Indian infants since the year 1926. The success of the child welfare campaign is reflected in the improvement in these figures over the past years. It is the policy of the Medical Department to stress the importance of district child welfare work through the District Medical Officers, Health Sisters, Assistant Medical Practitioners and District Nurses. 65. Seven Health Sisters are employed on district work and the number of locally-trained Assistant Nurses employed on this work increased from 88 in 1948 to 94. The duties of a Health Sister are arduous, involving constant travelling under difficult conditions, and a great deal of reliance has to be placed on the Assistant Nurses in the villages to carry on the work. A Mission Sister is employed on health work at Rotuma on a part-time basis and arrangements were in hand at the end of the year to post a Health Sister to Labasa on the island of Vanua Levu. The smaller islands within easy travelling distance of Viti Levu are visited regularly by the Health Sisters but, so far, it has been necessary to rely on the Assistant Nurses, who have the help of the Assistant Medical Practitioners, to carry on infant welfare work in the outlying islands. 66. The following figures show the attendances at the Suva and other clinics, including the mobile clinics:— Europeans .. .. .. .. .. .. 2,086 Part-Europeans . .. .. .. .. .. 1,785 Fijians .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 10,879 Indians .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 9,809 Chinese .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 559 Others .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 720 Total .. .. 25,838 T.A.B. Inoculations (including those given at schools) . .. 1,816 Smallpox vaccinations .. .. .. .. .. .. 595 Pertussis, Diphtheria inoculations, etc. .. .. .. .. 1,441 Home visits made .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 4,566 Number of children under 2 years seen at the Clinic .. .. 4,411 67. The mobile clinic which operated in the Suva and Rewa areas had to be laid up at the end of 1948 as it had become unserviceable. It was possible, however, during the year, to purchase a new clinic from funds which had been donated by the Colonial Sugar Refining Company for infant welfare work, supplemented by funds realized from the sale of the old vehicle. This mobile clinic was put into operation in Suva and Rewa areas. The construction of a second mobile clinic had almost been completed at the end of the year from funds subscribed through the efforts of the Suva Rotary Club, the Central Indian Organization, and the Mahila Mandil. It is proposed that this clinic should operate in the Western districts of Viti Levu. 68. Twenty-four beds are available at the Maternity Annexe, Colonial War Memorial Hospital, which is a very busy unit. The following figures give some indication of the work carried out and the increasing use made of the Maternity Annexe over recent years:— 1943 1946 1948 1949 Births. 410 581 773 841 Ante-Natal Attendances .. 757 1,999 3,387 4,800 69. Provision for a new and enlarged Maternity Annexe is included in Stage I of the new medical centre proposals, to be financed from Colonial Development and Welfare funds.
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