New hospital will bring smiles to many families in Fiji, region

As we commemorate the Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week, it is appropriate that we recognise the significant work of Sai Prema Foundation Fiji and all those associated with it.

They are behind the first South Pacific Children’s Heart Hospital that is due to open in April.

The Sai Prema Foundation Fiji medical coordinator, Dr Krupali Tappoo, says the hospital will provide free open heart surgeries for children in Fiji and the South Pacific.

It is the first hospital of its kind in the region. For Fijian children especially, it will offer a huge relief.

This life-saving operation is expensive and those who can afford it travel overseas, either to Australia and New Zealand to get it done.

The others wait for overseas volunteer doctors and surgeons in conjunction with Sai Prema to come here and conduct free clinics and surgeries annually.

This time these services will increase and will be performed at the specialised hospital at Nasese in Suva.

Building capacity will take a bit of time with the training of local medical personnel to carry out the services.

Statistics show that about 200 babies are born in Fiji with congenital heart disease annually. The defects are the most common birth defects in the world. Twice as many children die from them than from childhood cancers combined.

Dr Tappoo reveals that in the South Pacific 200,000 babies are born every year with heart defects. This is a matter of great concern.

This hospital will help relieve the pressure for many parents of these babies.

The fact that it is free makes this whole project special.

We commend the driving force behind this project – Dr Tappoo, her father in-law and foundation chairman Mahendra Tappoo and others who work hard, quietly and free of charge in the background to bring a dream into reality.

This project also raises our visibility as a medical hub in the region where services that previously were only available in Australia and New Zealand can also be accessed here.

At a time when the world is moving towards a userpay health and medical system and the cost of medical care keeps rising, this hospital has gone against the trend.

It’s a tribute to a group of people who have opened their hearts to help the less fortunate and the needy access medical treatment that will save young lives. The Government must be commended also for entering into a partnership with Sai Prema to bring a much needed medical facility here. This is a huge undertaking and the best thing is that it is free for those who really need it.

There is no doubt the hospital will bring smiles to a lot of families.