A patient wanders through the hall containing the men's cells at the St Giles Psychiatric Hospital. 24 February 2004 Photo: AFP / Torsten Blackwood
Fiji's only psychiatric hospital is battling with resource constraints as demand for mental health services, linked to drug use, is surging in the country.
Local media are reporting substance abuse-related mental health cases, particularly due to the use of hard drugs such as methamphetamine, is creating problems for the St Giles Psychiatric Hospital.
The problems range from a shortage of nurses and doctors to beds for patients, at the only facility of its type in the country.
The medical superintendent at the hospital in the capital Suva, Dr Balram Pandit, told the state broadcaster FBC on Monday that 100-beds was "insufficient" and they needed another 90 beds to meet the demand.
"Currently what is happening [is] we treat [patients], [but] since we do not have that many beds, we have to discharge them earlier so obviously there is a relapse, they relapse and come back again; we are having problems in that area," he was quoted as saying in the FBC report.
Pundit said a request has been made for additional beds as a temporary measure until a dedicated facility is constructed by the government for substance abuse cases.
In July last year, Pandit said the hospital was operating at 50 percent capacity due to staff shortage, compromising their services.
Four months later, in November, the Home Affairs Minister Pio Tikoduadua said the government needed to "pour money" into St Giles Hospital so it can meet the demand to deliver mental health services.
In January this year, Pandit told the Fiji Sun newspaper that St Giles would get a "facelift and upgraded to be the regional mental institution for the South Pacific".
"Dr Pandit said plans were underway to change the surroundings and upgrade the facility to provide adequate services and meet the demand," the Fiji Sun reported.
"There are multiple things. We will have better rehabilitation services with patients with substance abuse issues," he was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
In May, Pandit said at a public forum the number of mental health visitations had doubled in the past decade, with some 8000 substance abuse-related cases recorded in 2023.
He said the facility had less than 85 nurses but it needed 200 to provide adequate services.
The Fiji government allocated FJ$451.8 million "to deliver quality health care services to Fijians" in its 2024-2025 Budget.
The St Giles Hospital was allocated FJ$4.68m, but nothing mental-health specific.
However, Finance Minister Biman Prasad announced that a 'Drug Rehabilitation Incentive Package' had been developed instead for private sector and other civil society organisations to set up drug rehabilitation centres "to further boost our efforts in the fight against drugs".
"An incentive package encompassing tax holiday and duty concession on equipment and machineries that will be procured to set up a Drug Rehabilitation Centre has been developed," he said.
"A 100 percent tax deduction will also be available for donations made to any Drug Rehabilitation Centre," he added.