Services at the National University of Samoa’s health clinic have been haphazard, due to challenges in recruiting a permanent nurse, but that issue has now been resolved. 

The NUS President and Vice Chancellor, Aiono Professor Alec Ekeroma, confirmed the challenges facing the clinic and how it has been resolved in an interview with the Samoa Observer.

He said to enable students at the university to have access to the services staff from the Health Specialist Centre will be engaged.

"The clinic was closed during the break and will be reopening today by the staff of the Health Specialist Center at the request of the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Su'a Mene Lee Hang," Aiono said. 

"The Manager of the Health Specialist Centre deals with those and NUS was invoiced $10 per hour for running the clinic which comes to $80 a day.”

The Vice Chancellor also clarified the Health Specialist Center is a Charitable Trust that was launched by the former prime minister in January 2021. 

“There is a Chair and Board and the accounts are audited," Aiono said. "All the equipment, intellectual property and consumables were donated by me to the Trust valued at more than $500K.”

According to the Vice Chancellor, the nurse who was meant to start at the NUS health clinic in May this year is still going through registration processes, and he indicated that there is a long and strenuous process required for any professional from overseas who is hired to work in Samoa.

"The Australian nurse that was appointed on the 27th May is still going through the registration process with the Samoa Nursing Council. 

“I have asked HR to offer the job to the second applicant to speed things up.”

The NUS health clinic will be open from Monday to Friday between 8am to 4pm. 

An aide at the university's clinic who is also an employee of the Health Specialist Centre, Rosie Nai, told the Samoa Observer on Monday that some students visited the clinic in the morning.

"Some kids came up and we conducted their tests, sometimes they just come up because they have a headache and ask for panadol," she added. "So far we are not busy but I am here to make sure the students are catered to.”