A group of Year Four Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS) students from the Fiji National University’s (FNU) College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences (CMNHS) provided over 100 boxes of clothes to the patients of Saint Giles Hospital this morning.

This was an initiative the FNU students came up with during their seven weeks psychiatry block attachment at the country’s only psychiatric hospital.

As a kind gesture of giving back to the community, the student group wanted to show their appreciation for the cooperation given to them from the patients and staff at the Saint Giles Hospital during their attachment.

Student Joseph Lagicere said the donation was made to patients who have low-income family support.

“When we came to our psychiatry rotation a few months ago, we noticed that most of the patients did not have visitors to supply them with necessities such as clothes and they wore the same clothes for weeks,” stated Lagicere.

The students organised a clothes drive two weeks ago where they reached out to friends, colleagues and family members for donation and received an overwhelming response.

“When we posted about the drive on Facebook, it went viral, and people started calling us. We had donations from as far as Levuka, Sigatoka and Nadi. Some people even contacted us from Australia and New Zealand,” he said.

“This is sort of an inspiration we took from our senior colleagues from CMNHS who had organised a similar drive last year where they donated at least two hundred bath towels for patients,” mentioned Lagicere.

“During our lectures at the College, we are always reminded to be kind and compassionate, and I think this donation is something which shows our compassion towards the patients at the Saint Giles Hospital.”

Acting Charge for Occupational Therapy Centre at the Saint Giles Hospital, Keshmi Prasad said they were thankful to the students for their effort.

“I want to express my sincere appreciation to the students for the generosity in running a successful campaign to provide clothes and related items for our underprivileged patients. This effort gives our patients the hope that humanity still exists amidst COVID 19 pandemic,” said Prasad.

16 Year Four MBBS students from FNU’s College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences ended their attachment with Saint Giles Hospital today.