Why Dr Nand has Fiji at Heart
Returning to Fiji to provide and perform expensive surgeries to Fijians for free is what drives heart surgeon Dr Parma Nand.
Born in Labasa, Vanua Levu, Dr Nand now lives in New Zealand, but he has been returning to the country with a team of specialists for the past 13 years to serve Fijians who could not afford a heart surgery.
It is understood that the real cost would be around $80,000 per surgery.
“I was able to get a medical team like anaesthetics, perfusionists, theatre nurses, intensivists and physiotherapists,” he said.
“I worked in New Zealand for 30 years and I started this programme in 2006 through Friends of Fiji Heart Foundation.
“Cardiac surgery can be done in Fiji, but it has to have a team because it is not an individual based procedure and my team has 70 people in it and they are all specialists.”
Dr Nand and the team have been here for the past two weeks performing heart surgeries at the Colonial war Memorial Hospital in Suva. He said patients came from all over the country and yesterday was their last day.
The team performed 550 surgeries including 250 open heart surgeries, 40 paediatric active enhanced disease surveillance (PAEDS) open heart, 75 angioplasty and 187 pacemaker.
“We mostly try to capture the young people around the age of 13 to
15 years because these are the kids who are highly likely to be productive in the society,” he said. “At the same time we try to select younger patients then older patients because as the patient gets older the surgery gets more complicated.
“The team will leave when most of the patients are discharged, if one or two are left we will hand over the care to local doctors.”
He also said the patients were grateful and thankful for the free surgeries and excellent services.
The Associate of Trust and Administration Operation for Friends of Fiji Heart Foundation, Jasmeen Mohammed said: “This year has a greater penetration of public awareness outside of the hospital.”
Clinical Perfusionist in Auckland City Hospital, Gaz Jabur, said he had been involved with the Friends of Fiji Heart Foundation for the past seven years. “Saving a human life is something amazing and I worked really hard to where I am right now and I want to give back,” he said.
He also said they didn’t just come here to do surgeries, but also to educate because in the future Fiji could have its own cardiac theatre operated by Fijians.