Aspen Medical Reaffirms Free Healthcare for Fijians at the Lautoka and Ba Public Hospitals

The Aspen Medical-managed Lautoka and Ba Public Hospitals continue to
provide free Government-approved services to all Fijian citizens. This includes
heart surgery, which commenced in October 2022.

These comments are made in response to an article published in the Fiji
Times on 02 June 2023, “Expatriate patient billed $46,690 – Dr Bhagat”.
Aspen Medical’s Acting Chief Executive Officer in Fiji, Mr Gavin Whiteside,
said, “The patient mentioned in the article was not a Fijian citizen and had to
go through many tests and procedures to determine the cause. This, coupled
with treatment charges by our expert team, medication, food and other
services had cost the patient approximately $2,200 per day, which is
comparatively cheaper to overseas hospitals in Australia and New Zealand.
The patient required constant care and support for 19 days which resulted in
the billed amount.

“The cost to a Fijian citizen for this level of service and care would have been
zero.”

He continued, “There are certainly some misconceptions circulating and we
would like to invite all our stakeholders, including the respected Dr Bhagat
and members of the media, to reach out to us with their inquiries, we are
more than happy to talk to you.
“We have achieved much in the 14 months since the hospitals transitioned to
Aspen Medical, and there is more to come.”

Health Care (Fiji) Pte Ltd is a Public-Private Partnership formed between the
Fiji National Provident Fund and Aspen Medical to manage both Lautoka and
Ba public hospitals under a contract with the Government of Fiji