Macquarie University Hospital cardiologist Dr Fiona Foo is part of a visionary team taking cardiology services to Fiji. This is her account of working in this pioneering initiative for heart health.
Fiji conjures up images of a tropical island paradise, white sandy beaches, turquoise blue water and palm trees. However, despite the island nation being only a few hours flight from Australia, our health systems are worlds apart. We used to think infectious/communicable diseases were the main problem in the Pacific Islands. However, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) have now become the number one health problem.
Our Fijian neighbours have a much lower life expectancy, with a greater percentage of deaths from NCDs under the age of 60, a greater percentage of cardiovascular disease (CVD) deaths, and more than three times the age standardized death rate per 100,000 from CVD and diabetes compared to Australia.
Significantly, the amount spent per capita as a percentage of GDP is significantly lower in Fiji. The total number of cardiologists in Fiji is zero and, up until recently, they had no cardiac catheter theatre or echo machine.
I was fortunate to become involved in bringing cardiology services to Fiji. This happened through Dr Vijay Kapadia, an interventional cardiologist working on the Gold Coast, originally from Fiji, who has undertaken the provision of cardiology services to the Pacific nation.
This project is non-profit with no formal funding arrangement. In Bill Gates’ paraphrased words, Dr Kapadia is a true philanthropist, someone who gives without expecting any personal gain. Through Dr Kapadia’s vision, dedication and persistence, he managed to acquire a second-hand cardiac catheter theatre, which was finally assembled in 2009. This is in the Colonial War Memorial (CWM) Hospital in Suva.
Since then, several teams from New Zealand and Australia, and other countries, have given their time to perform angiograms and angioplasties/stents for the growing list of patients who have coronary artery disease.
I am returning again to Fiji in February 2014, and will continue to do so every year. On such trips, I find I meet wonderful people, encounter extremely grateful patients, become a better clinician, learn to compromise, and appreciate the medical services and the lifestyle we have in Australia.
As much as I embrace all the technological advances with which I work, particularly in the cardiac cath lab and with echo machines, trips like these keep my feet firmly planted on the ground.
A broader question that arises is why we may feel that such an inequality of healthcare as exists between ourselves and our neighbours is worth addressing by any individual (or government). Could it be for ethics, morals, perhaps religious reasons, altruism or even self-interest?
For me, one of the main reasons I involve myself in such activity is simply that it doesn’t add up – this degree of inequality existing, at all, let alone between neighbours. There is something fundamental about the human quality of compassion.
There is something good about loving thy neighbour.
By Dr Fiona Foo, General and Interventional Cardiologist -
Heart Care Centre, Macquarie University Hospital
Sydney Cardiology Group
This article is an extract from the summer edition of Frontier, Macquarie University Hospital’s quarterly magazine. The full edition will be published online next week.
Fiji conjures up images of a tropical island paradise, white sandy beaches, turquoise blue water and palm trees. However, despite the island nation being only a few hours flight from Australia, our health systems are worlds apart. We used to think infectious/communicable diseases were the main problem in the Pacific Islands. However, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) have now become the number one health problem.
Our Fijian neighbours have a much lower life expectancy, with a greater percentage of deaths from NCDs under the age of 60, a greater percentage of cardiovascular disease (CVD) deaths, and more than three times the age standardized death rate per 100,000 from CVD and diabetes compared to Australia.
Significantly, the amount spent per capita as a percentage of GDP is significantly lower in Fiji. The total number of cardiologists in Fiji is zero and, up until recently, they had no cardiac catheter theatre or echo machine.
I was fortunate to become involved in bringing cardiology services to Fiji. This happened through Dr Vijay Kapadia, an interventional cardiologist working on the Gold Coast, originally from Fiji, who has undertaken the provision of cardiology services to the Pacific nation.
This project is non-profit with no formal funding arrangement. In Bill Gates’ paraphrased words, Dr Kapadia is a true philanthropist, someone who gives without expecting any personal gain. Through Dr Kapadia’s vision, dedication and persistence, he managed to acquire a second-hand cardiac catheter theatre, which was finally assembled in 2009. This is in the Colonial War Memorial (CWM) Hospital in Suva.
Since then, several teams from New Zealand and Australia, and other countries, have given their time to perform angiograms and angioplasties/stents for the growing list of patients who have coronary artery disease.
I am returning again to Fiji in February 2014, and will continue to do so every year. On such trips, I find I meet wonderful people, encounter extremely grateful patients, become a better clinician, learn to compromise, and appreciate the medical services and the lifestyle we have in Australia.
As much as I embrace all the technological advances with which I work, particularly in the cardiac cath lab and with echo machines, trips like these keep my feet firmly planted on the ground.
A broader question that arises is why we may feel that such an inequality of healthcare as exists between ourselves and our neighbours is worth addressing by any individual (or government). Could it be for ethics, morals, perhaps religious reasons, altruism or even self-interest?
For me, one of the main reasons I involve myself in such activity is simply that it doesn’t add up – this degree of inequality existing, at all, let alone between neighbours. There is something fundamental about the human quality of compassion.
There is something good about loving thy neighbour.
By Dr Fiona Foo, General and Interventional Cardiologist -
Heart Care Centre, Macquarie University Hospital
Sydney Cardiology Group
This article is an extract from the summer edition of Frontier, Macquarie University Hospital’s quarterly magazine. The full edition will be published online next week.
