Fiji's medical emergency number is 911. Beyond that, plan around three facts: most resort precincts sit closest to a sub-divisional hospital, not a referral one; serious cases travel to Lautoka, Suva or overseas; and the first leg off an island is a boat. Contract medical and evacuation cover before anything else.
This is a guideline only — confirm current arrangements with the Fiji Ministry of Health and Medical Services, and with your insurer, before you sign.
Who actually responds when a delegate goes down?
Fiji publishes 911 for medical emergency, 917 for police and 910 for fire; the Fiji Hotel and Tourism Association lists 910/911 for ambulance. The Ministry of Health runs a toll-free line on 158, weekdays 8:00am–4:30pm — information, not dispatch.
In practice your first responder is the venue: Tourism Fiji's advice is to contact the hotel or resort first. So your day-one medical plan is whoever is on duty holding a current first aid certificate — unless you contract better.
There is a legal spine under this. Fiji's Health and Safety at Work Act 1996 sets a general employer duty at section 9 and, at section 10, extends it to "persons not in his or her employment" — delegates, exactly. That duty is real, but it is not a medical plan, and it does not tell you who carries the oxygen.
Which hospital does your event precinct refer to?
Fiji's public system runs on four divisions. Central refers to Colonial War Memorial Hospital (CWM) in Suva, the national tertiary referral centre; Western to Lautoka Hospital; Northern to Labasa. The Eastern Division has no divisional hospital. Everything else in the tourism belt is sub-divisional, a health centre or a nursing station.
| Event precinct | Nearest public hospital | Tier | Serious cases go on to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nadi and ON Denarau Island | Nadi Hospital | Sub-divisional, 80 beds, 24/7 A&E | Lautoka Hospital |
| IN Lautoka, Vuda, Momi | Lautoka Hospital | Western divisional referral | CWM Suva or overseas |
| ON the Coral Coast | Sigatoka Hospital | Sub-divisional, A&E unit funded by the Coral Coast hotel sector | Lautoka Hospital |
| AT Pacific Harbour | Navua Hospital | Sub-divisional (Central) | CWM Suva |
| IN Suva | CWM Hospital | National tertiary referral | Overseas |
| IN the Mamanucas / IN the Yasawas | Nadi Hospital, via boat or helicopter | Sub-divisional once ashore | Lautoka Hospital |
| Savusavu | Savusavu Hospital | Sub-divisional | Labasa Hospital |
| Taveuni | Waiyevo Hospital | Sub-divisional | Labasa Hospital |
Read that as a routing map, not a ranking. Nadi Hospital publishes 24/7 accident and emergency and 24-hour maternity, with an emergency line of +679 670 1128. Lautoka Hospital is operated by Aspen Medical, which announced an upgrade from March 2025 covering a cardiac catheterisation suite, MRI, a fast-track emergency unit and ICU, PICU and burns work.
A conference ON Denarau Island at The Westin Denarau Island Resort and Spa and one ON the Coral Coast at Outrigger Fiji Beach Resort are on entirely different roads. AT Pacific Harbour, The Pearl Resort routes toward Suva. IN Suva, Grand Pacific Hotel Suva shares a city with the tertiary centre — the strongest medical argument for a Suva programme.
What private and after-hours capability exists?
- Zens Medical Centre runs its Nadi headquarters at 40 Lodhia Street and its Denarau centre 24 hours, Lautoka 8:00am–10:00pm, plus centres in Ba, Rakiraki, Labasa and Savusavu. It lists ambulance services and an emergency number of 5919.
- Oceania Hospitals, 120 Amy Street, Toorak, Suva, lists a high dependency unit, theatre, imaging, pathology, cardiology and dialysis, on (679) 330 3404.
- Pacific Specialist Healthcare (PSH) operates at Walu Bay in Suva and Legalega in Nadi, publishing hours of 7:00am–6:30pm — do not assume a 24-hour private emergency department.
Be honest about the ceiling. Australia's Smartraveller advises that care standards in Fiji "aren't as high as in Australia and are limited", that many hospitals provide only basic care, that in emergencies hotels and resorts use public facilities, and that hospitals usually require proof of ability to pay before admission. Put that in the delegate pre-travel pack, not just the risk register — see health, vaccinations and medical access.
How long does an island evacuation really take?
No Fiji operator publishes a guaranteed response time, and you should refuse one offered without aircraft, crewing and weather minima named. What is published is capability.
LifeFlight Fiji (the Fiji Aeromedical & Rescue Services Trust) operates twin-engine aircraft, states coverage of 95% of the Fiji Group, and runs a rapid response vehicle carrying AED, monitors, oxygen and trauma kits; FHTA lists it on 9933907 / 7751401. Heli-Tours Fiji, at Nadi Airport, operates an AS355 twin with an articulated stretcher plus two R44s, on +679 992 4940. For repatriation, Medical Rescue flies jets with an ICU doctor-and-nurse team from Nadi and Suva to Australia, subject to condition, weather and flight approvals, working directly with insurers.
One discrepancy to check yourself: Wikipedia records that Pacific Island Air, long a fixture of Fiji seaplane, helicopter and air ambulance work, ceased operations in 2025, while its own website still advertises transfers with no closure notice. The sources conflict — confirm before naming any air operator in a plan.
The constraint people forget is the first leg: from an island, a casualty reaches the aircraft by boat. Port Denarau operators such as Mamanuca Express, running a multi-vessel fleet 24/7, and SeaFiji are the realistic mechanism — and a marine transfer at night in a swell is a different proposition from the same run at 10:00am. Build darkness and sea state into the island risk assessment the way wet weather planning builds in rain.
Is there a hyperbaric chamber for dive programmes?
Two. Smartraveller lists chambers at CWM Hospital in Suva and at Pacific Specialist Healthcare in Nadi; the PSH Nadi chamber launched on 31 December 2024 as a joint venture with the Republic of Fiji Navy. The CWM chamber has historically had specialist-staffing constraints reported in Fijian media, so if diving is on the programme, ask in writing which chamber is staffed on your dates.
Do security contractors need a licence in Fiji?
They do, under the Security Industry Act 2010 — the clause most planners skip. FHTA's notice to hotels states that no person may employ or provide others to carry on security activity unless they hold a master licence: you either hold one or contract a business that does. The Security Industry Registration and Licensing Board administers it, on 3211613 or 3211621.
The compliance picture is uncomfortable. The Fiji Sun reported in August 2026 that fewer than 100 of roughly 3,000 registered providers hold licences, that the Act is under review, and that the tiers are Master, Individual and Provisional. Uniforms must not resemble police or military dress — relevant if you are branding a crowd team. Ask for the licence number and copies, and warrant it in the contract.
What exactly goes in the contract?
| Clause | Specify | Why |
|---|---|---|
| On-site medic | Qualification, scope of practice, hours including bump-in and offsite dinners | "A nurse on site" is not a scope |
| Response | Medic's post, and target time to your furthest point | A beachfront gala is not the ballroom |
| Equipment | AED and pads, oxygen, airway, spinal, trauma kit, who checks them | Assume nothing is on site unless listed |
| Transfer route | Named receiving hospital per session, plus alternate | Coral Coast and Suva routes differ |
| Standby asset | Vehicle or boat, dedicated or shared | A shared resort boat is not an asset |
| Evacuation | Who activates, which provider, escalation number | Someone must say yes at 2:00am |
| Who pays | Who funds the first transfer | Hospitals commonly need proof of payment |
| Insurance interface | Insurer, policy number, assistance company, 24-hour number, consent to release clinical detail | The assistance company runs the repatriation |
| Security | Master licence number, guard count, uniform, radio channel, police escalation | Act 2010 compliance sits with you |
| Reporting | Incident log format, notification window | Without it you cannot brief client or insurer |
Brief this as one document. The medical and security plans share a radio channel, a control point and an incident log; if they do not, you have two plans and no system. Duty of care for delegates in Fiji sets the framework; healthcare and emergency services by region maps the facilities.
The verdict: how much cover do you need?
- Under 150 delegates, one Viti Levu property, daytime only: venue first aiders plus a written transfer route and a named 24-hour clinic can be proportionate — confirm certification in writing.
- 150–800 delegates, or any evening offsite: a dedicated medic, equipment listed, standby vehicle named.
- Any island, dive, adventure or VIP element: medic plus named evacuation provider, chamber confirmed if diving, marine first leg and night limits agreed.
- Multi-property programmes: one control point, one log, a route per property.
Your next step
Put the medical and security scope into the RFP rather than bolting it on later, so quotes come back comparable. A capable ground partner already knows which hospital serves your precinct and will say where the gaps are. Start with the Fiji DMC and PCO directory, then the wider supplier categories.
