The Sri Sanjeevani Children’s Heart Hospital in Nasese, Suva will introduce pulse oximetry testing.

This is to detect Congenital Heart Disease in children from birth. It is conducted using a machine known as the pulse oximeter which is placed on the baby’s skin to estimate the amount of oxygen in the baby’s blood.

Hospital Director, Dr Krupali Tappoo, says the test checks for oxygen levels and can help identify if a baby has a serious heart problem that may not be obvious in the first days of life.

Dr Tappoo says the non-invasive procedure is mostly available in developed countries such as Australia and the United States.

“I’ve worked in Australia for many years and certainly all babies on discharge have pulse oximetry done. If their oxygen level are low, they go on and have a scan of the heart and quite often you might pick out a baby with congenital heart disease. So that’s another programme that we will roll out when the hospital starts operating at good capacity.”

Dr Krupali Tappoo says early detection is crucial so children can undergo treatment as soon as possible.

The $25m Heart Hospital is nearly complete.