Riya Bhagwan 
[Photo: FILE]
Fiji needs more trained specialists and a multidisciplinary team to strengthen care for patients living with chronic pain.
University of Washington anaesthesiologist Dr Satish Bhagwanjee says Lautoka Hospital has a highly skilled pain management doctor, but one specialist cannot meet the growing need for comprehensive care.
He says patients with chronic pain require support from different health professionals, including physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and psychologists.
“The difficulty is that he is one, and that’s a problem. Because there’s a need here for much more than one person. The second challenge is, of course, the resources. And the main difficulty there is to have a chronic pain, a multidisciplinary team, including physiotherapy, occupational therapy, psychology, et cetera. And unfortunately, all of those support systems are not imminently available.”
Dr Bhagwanjee highlights that the shortage of supporting health professionals is a bigger challenge than equipment, although access to specialised equipment and medicines also
affects the services available.
He says discussions have focused on ways to bring other health professionals into the team to improve the care available to patients.
The doctor was in Fiji as part of the Sai Sanjeevani Foundation’s voluntary medical outreach program.
During his visit, he said he was impressed with the skills of local medical professionals, highlighting the need to strengthen the resources and support available to them.
