Health Minister Dr. Ifereimi Waqainabete

The Health Minister has praised the good works of various medical charities and foundations that carry out specialized medical surgeries in Fiji.

These include US-based Benevolent Missions International – who perform medical and surgical eye care and the Sai Prema Foundation who recently opened a new cardiac imaging unit in Nasese, Suva which will be used to look at children’s heart.

Other groups include the Rotary Clubs of Australia and New Zealand, Hawai’i based Shriners Hospital for Children, NZ based Friends of Fiji Health foundation, and Open heart International amongst others.

Dr. Ifereimi Waqainabete says the Ministry supports these groups by ensuring they have proper mechanisms for registration and clearance from customs.

“How do we have patient navigation in place where we pick up patients that they want to see, make sure the patients are taken to them but also ensuring that when they leave that these patients are being looked after and looked after well. Because the importance of what’s done in the operating theatre is not only what’s done in the theatre but is what is done afterward. And that’s why we’re talking to them about making sure they upskill the local doctors and nurses, physiotherapists and other elite health services to be able to continue the care when they leave.”

Waqainabete says this includes identifying a person who can be the point of care and hold continuous discussions with them when they leave.

This way they will be able to have a sustainable relationship.

Other groups include World Gastroenterology Society who support Fijian doctors to learn how to do Endoscopic operations and viewing – a nonsurgical procedure used to examine a person’s digestive tract.

The Sai Medical team has also been commended for allowing Fiji’s first neurosurgeon, first neurologist and our first neuroradiologist to undergo further training in Australia.

The three experts are now based at Suva’s CWM hospital.