Tonga's happy Minister of Health Dr Viliami Tangi yesterday received the keys for the first part of the new Vaiola Hospital complex that was built with $17.7 million pa'anga in Japanese aid.

The heads of the Japanese construction contractors handed over 157 keys to rooms along with volumes of architectural data, to the Minister who toured the section of the building that was completed a month ahead of schedule.

Built alongside the existing hospital at Havelu, the new one- storey T-shaped building houses a midwifery unit, a ward for newly born babies, neo-natal intensive care wards, three operation theatres, surgery wards, an x-ray facility and a laboratory. The surgery wards include three air-conditioned private rooms, and a private suite with its own bathroom.

With regards to the concern by the public over the user-pay approach that will be introduced when they new facility will be opened to the public, Dr Tangi stressed that, "the poor will be looked after, the new approach will not deprive anyone of health care." He said that a study on the health service in Tonga was carried out and government had decided that the patients would have to pay for something. "Remember that this complex was built with the money of Japanese tax payers."

Dr Tangi said that the Japanese Grant financed the construction of a third of the whole new Vaiola complex, which it is estimated will cost about $US32 million to complete.

The Japanese grant was also spent in the construction of two other detached buildings, a new mental health ward, and a kitchen and laundry facility.

Next phase

Dr Tangi said that Phase Two of the Vaiola Hospital Upgrading Project would be the construction of a new paediatrics ward and a medical ward, to be funded by government, and construction would start at the end of April or in early May.

Phase Three and the final phase of the project is to replace the existing double storey complex with a newly constructed out-patient facility and an emergency unit. The Minister said that Phase Three would cost about $3 million and he had approached the Japanese government again for assistance to complete the project by 2008.

Mortuary

With regards to the mortuary, the Minister said that though normally hospital don't operate mortuaries, but because there is no private enterprise that would like to take over the running of a mortuary, they would continue to offer a service, and will increase their capacity.

Though only one third of the project has been completed but both Dr Viliami Tangi and the Director of Health, Dr Litilil 'Ofanoa were delighted yesterday with what they had achieved so far.

"I did not know that I would live this long do work in a hospital in Tonga, equipped with some of the latest," said Dr 'Ofanoa who toured the new building yesterday.

Dr Tangi was beaming with joy when he explained that when he was appointed as the Minister of Health in 1999, one of his mandates was to upgrade Vaiola and it was a dream come true to see the construction of Phase One completed.