PART 3: FIJI MEDICAL CARE -THE TERTIARY HOSPITAL - NEED FOR FIJI TO HAVE VISIONARY LEADERS FOR THIS PROJECT TO PROCEED

 

PART 3: FIJI MEDICAL CARE- TERTIARY HOSPITAL, SUPPORTED BY VISIONARY POLITICIANS PROMOTES DEVELOPMENT IN FIJI

Thakur Ranjit Singh

Synopsis of PART 2:

We defined levels of hospital services: primary, secondary and tertiary. We have primary and secondary services which are acutely run down, and despite claim from ASPEN, Lautoka Hospital cannot be redesigned to work as a tertiary facility where they can hardly afford toilet papers and basic needs, with buildings and facilities falling apart. Despite signing outsourcing agreement over 3 years ago, little progress has been made either in Lautoka or at a long time white elephant, Ba Hospital.

An advantage of the new tertiary institution is the synergy of support from a highly educated Fiji Indian Diaspora in medical services around the world, and their contacts with medical fraternity who could help in this project. In addition, retired Fijian Diaspora, all Fiji people who left Fiji because of deficient health services would come back. Hence this project brings great deal of economic, social, tourism, agricultural and other associated benefits.

Both Bainimarama and Khaiyum would have been treated here in Fiji with top-class international medical care and facilities if this project was allowed to proceed. We continue….

 

THE HOSPITAL PROJECT - SYNERGY OF ASSOCIATED DEVELOPMENTS ENHANCING WELLBEING OF ALL FIJIANS

 

Financial Viability

Fiji would reap multi-advantages from this very ambitious long-overdue project. Firstly, tourists coming to Fiji on medical insurance would be assured of international medical facilities when in Fiji, and would not have to be evacuated for any care. Their insurance would take care of that. 

Secondly, like Bangkok, Fiji could develop and expand into medical tourism hub of the Pacific, and tourists would be enticed to seek specialist international-standard treatment while enjoying our facilities and hospitality.

There was some talk previously of Japan wishing to relocate its expanding elderly rich people from winter of Japan to the warmth of a tropical Fiji. While escaping the cold Japanese winter, they would also have access to international-standard medical care which would be less than half hour from five-star hotel facilities of Fiji. This would be a good boost to tourism industry and the facilities where money has been blindly poured into only partly-used hotels, which could be gainfully utilised by giving approval for such a facility in Fiji.

It would cost a third the price of Fiji Airways A 350 Aircraft costing over US $300m. With an investment of US $100m, with a tertiary hospital, we could open the doors of Fiji to huge tourism-and other associated economic boom, which, as you will see later, even Rabuka can envision. But for that to eventuate, you need leaders and a government with a vision for Fiji and its people.

This is an artist's impression of how the tertiary hospital complex atop Lautoka Golf Course in Tavakubu would look like. It will have modern state-of-art medical, other facilities and  support services attached to it. More about this in the concluding Part 4.

Of course, these services will not be free and will not come cheap. There are many rich people who can afford the international costs of first-class medical treatments, and many people would not hesitate to pitch in to help their relatives get first-class treatment. Huge rich business community will be able to pay and have services in Fiji. 

The FNPF members could be covered by their insurance cover. The insurance now handled by Fiji Care and the likes would not have to seek overseas evacuation and have the services given here at home. For cane farmers, FSC, once properly structured and managed, could have a long-shelved saving and insurance scheme to cover the farmers, their families and the landowners. The cover for Members of Itaukei Mataqali (land owning units) would be covered by insurance scheme from Itaukei Land Trust Board (ILTB). 

For other people who fall from the hole, government could have a subsidized scheme for them, with partnership from public secondary hospital facilities like in Lautoka, but seeking specialist facilities from this hospital.

As the leader of People’s Alliance Party (PAP), Sitiveni Rabuka has mooted, Fiji needs to have a National Health Scheme, in association with FNPF, ILTB, FSC, Fiji Care and others who care. Funds from FNPF, FSC and land rent money from ILTB could divert part of members contribution as premium for the insurance scheme and medical services provided locally in Tavakubu, and recuperating at a well-renovated and properly equipped Lautoka Hospital.

 

Sitiveni Rabuka, the person many Fiji Indians still find hard to forgive, seems to be the only hope to rid Fiji of the extremely poor governance under the Fiji First Government. The only way the new tertiary facility can become reality is for Fijians to have a change of Government and have visionary leaders running the country. Rabuka in the past, and still supports such a medical development in Fiji.

Regionalism and tertiary education

Regionalism was given boots in the guts by Fiji First through shameful midnight deportation of the Vice Chancellor of USP, Pal Ahluwalia. USP is the largest and most successful example of regionalism which has been grossly adulterated by the blinkered vision of Fiji First Government. Pacific medical education, which was once a sign of regional cooperation with the Central Medical School in Tamavua could be revived into a thriving hub of medical education, with a tertiary facility in Lautoka.

With a change in government, and with visionary leaders, the tertiary hospital project could resume stalled talks with the National Provident Fund of Solomon Island, and its government, to have the main facilities in Lautoka, with feeder regional facilities in Honiara. Similar arrangement could be made with Apia, Nukualofa, Port Moresby and other Pacific countries lacking tertiary facilities.

Medical education throughout Fiji in other scattered institutions and Fiji School of Medicine would link with expertise and facilities to provide world-class exposure and medical education in Fiji. It would also be a springboard of promoting enhancement of medical education in the wider Pacific Forum countries. 

Fiji School of Medicine (FSM) had initially commenced as a regional cooperation teaching institution over half a century ago, but like this tertiary hospital project was also a victim of political instability in Fiji. This new facility could revive the half-a century old shattered dream of developing a regional training facility back in Fiji.

This facility and opportunity cannot be initiated, envisioned and provided by foreign-thinking overseas companies and their money-minded Sahebs, foreigners. We need our home-grown sons, like Doctors Karam Singh and Dr Michael Chandra who know what is best for Fiji, are passionate about their place of birth, still loyal to Fiji and wish to gift this facility to their country of birth, as it has been their long-term dream, running over 40 years and through approval of four Prime Ministers.

The underhand dealings of Fiji First government in general, and Khaiyum in particular to frustrate and block this project smells of improper motives and is more the reason why Fiji has to be rid of the curse of such blinkered leadership which has caused huge massacre in our run-down hospitals, which have been converted to morgues rather than houses of healing, with tens of thousands of untimely and preventable deaths.  

The abhorrence of Fiji First leadership to intellectuals after their treatment of Professor Brij Lal and Pal Ahluwalia indicates that Fiji needs to be urgently freed from obscenity of such blinkered leaders who are vindictive, blatantly nepotist, extremely ethnocentric (towards their belief), bereft of compassion and grossly lacking in vision. That is where the current political support is very encouraging from past two Prime Ministers who are still around to grant that vision a reality and  provide support to the project which they had backed while they were respective Prime Ministers - Sitiveni Rabuka and Mahendra Pal Chaudhry.

Pathologist DR KARAM SINGH, whose laboratory in Suva was burnt during political terrorism of 1987, and he relocated to Sydney and established a very successful Laboratory chain there. He has been trying for 40 years to establish  a tertiary medical facility in Fiji. Despite that , he is not vindictive, very forgiving, and wishes to gift Fiji a world-class tertiary medical facilities.

The continued Political Support from Sitiveni Rabuka

As stated earlier, this project had already been blessed by four Prime Minters going back four decades. They were Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, Sitiveni Rabuka, Mahendra Chaudhry and Laisenia Qarase. Thankfully two are still around, and supporting the project. It seems it is only objected by the current surrogate Prime Minister of Fiji, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum. 

What qualification and credentials has he got to grant contract to an outsourcing Australian ASPEN, who after signing the agreement over 3 years ago delayed their project, while our people keep on dying in run-down hospitals which cannot even provide Panadol’s or toilet papers. As I had questioned before, Khaiyum, has never been a respectable practising successful lawyer within his own profession, so therefore how can he be granted authority to decide on what medical facilities are needed and deserved by the people of Fiji?

The only light that we can see at the end of 40 year long tunnel is that Sitiveni Rabuka, the leader People’s Alliance Party (PAP), and who seems most likely to be the next PM of Fiji, has already given his full support to this project. In a self-explanatory letter to Dr Karam Singh, he said, among others:

 “The establishment of an internationally -accredited health facility in the country will not only provide better and cost-effective services, it will also be a “catalyst” to other sectors of our economy in generating investment and creating employment opportunities in other sectors, particularly in our growing tourism industry and its direct linkage to other sectors, such as agriculture.”

Rabuka further assured that PAP would work very closely with them in mobilising of the required local financial resources so that they could collectively realise the vision and dream of the establishment of an internationally recognised tertiary medial facility in Lautoka. Rabuka added that he and his party would provide full cooperation so that we all could realise this dream and initiative together.

Cardiologist DR MICHAEL SUSHIL CHANDRA is a world-renowned international medical professional, based in Iowa, USA. He with Dr Karam Singh has been relentlessly trying to bring this tertiary institution in Fiji and still have not given up after 40 years. They both plan to relocate to Fiji once the project gets green light from Fiji Government.

One wonders which part of the dream and advantage the Fiji First Government cannot understand, and why is one man single-handadly trying to stall this project which had been blessed by previous four Prime Ministers. The only hope for Fiji is to change the government to grant an opportunity to compassionate, engaging and visionary leaders to lead the nation out of the current doldrums and sad medical conditions.

Mahendra Chaudhry, who is leader of Fiji Labour Party is also coming strongly in the upcoming election, and like Rabuka, his initial support as the then Prime Minister decades ago still stands in support of this extremely beneficial, ambitious and long over-due project.

 

Lautoka Hospital

Lautoka Hospital has a massive multi-storey run-down infrastructure, degenerated so by underfunding of successive governments which had the eyes of leaders dazzled with five start golf-courses, international five-star hotels and shining Airbus and Boeing planes. By proper attention, priorities, renovations and equipping, this hospital (together with CWM and Labasa Hospitals) can come back to its past glory to provide free and subsidized health services to Fijian people.

However, it cannot be converted to provide an international type tertiary facility for Fiji which needs to be custom and purpose-built with all advanced medical facilities built-into the building to provide continuous, reliable and dependable services. Lautoka hospital is not good for that purpose. Yes, second-hand equipment donated by Australia and NZ can be used to equip this and other hospital to provide basic services. But they cannot be relied on to provide specialist tertiary services, and no surgeon worth his salt will wish to operate in an unreliable facility that may fall apart any moment. A tertiary hospital has to be built from scratch, as is required by this project.

Dr. Karam Singh's $150,000 Medical Laboratory of Fiji Limited complex was deliberately set alight by political thugs on 16 September, 1987. It was located at St. Forte Street near CWM Hospital. It was rated as the best medical laboratories in the Pacific, apart from those in Australia and NZ. It could do AIDS and other complex tests not available anywhere else in the region. Despite that, he is not vindictive and still wishes to help his country of birth get back more than what it lost in the 1987 arson. And this time, a changed, matured and repented Rabuka is with him, providing him all the support. 

To make Lautoka hospital into a world-class tertiary facility is like converting a piper (propeller-driven) aircraft into a Jumbo Jet 747, or picking up a rusty 737 from Arizona desert and painting it up and trying to convert it to a Dreamliner aircraft or A380. Hence the current run-down hospitals in Fiji need to be renovated to provide proper primary and secondary health care, for which they were initially built. 

Most are today converted to morgues as they have degenerated into because of lack of funding, vision of medical Ministry, pathetic services, overall poor governance due to political instability and blinkered vision-less leadership as Fiji currently has. As stated, they could be feeder hospitals for the specialist recuperation, but as erroneously suggested, cannot be reliably converted as tertiary facilities.

Fiji in the past, like foreign-based governance system, had been failed by the western concept of democracy, especially when we had blinkered, selfish and greedy leaders as happened in 1987. Hence, we need home-grown solution from Fiji people who appreciate and understand our problems. Therefore, Fiji no longer needs foreigners on holidays, recommending to provide band aid health services, but our Fiji born specialists who can understand and appreciate our systems, problems, are passionate about correcting our sick health system, and are nationalistic about medical development in the country.

That is where the Maestro Pathologist Dr Karam Singh and Internationally renowned Cardiologist Dr Michael Sushil Chandra come in. Dr Karam is not vindictive, but still has a heart for Fiji. His laboratory in 1987 was burnt by Taukei movement thugs, and he relocated to Australia and started and built reputable health services. He is very forgiving, and despite his mistreatment, has been trying relentlessly for 40 years with Cardiologist Dr Michael Sushil Chandra to give Fiji what Fiji really deserves from its children. It is the last gift which these retired Qaselevu (wise elders) or Bujurg (respected Senior citizens) wish to give to Fiji before they depart this world.

Hope the new government we will have before end of this year can fulfil that dream. Good Luck

 

PART 4: The international - standard medical facilities for Fiji to be provided by this Prime Health South Pacific (PHSP) project.

 

[About the Author: Thakur Ranjit Singh is former Publisher of Fiji’s Daily Post newspaper. Thakur was fired and removed from positions by two diametrically opposed Prime Ministers: Chaudhry and Qarase. This was for speaking the truth and being too frank and not mincing his words, as he is doing so here again. He is a media commentator, a journalist and runs his blog, FIJI PUNDIT. Thakur is a Post Graduate in Journalism (with honours) from Auckland University of Technology, (AUT), NZ.

E-mail: thakurjifj@gmail.com]