A CARDIOLOGIST will arrive in the country from India this weekend to perform angiograms on patients with heart problems.

The angiograms, which will be held for a week from Monday, will help the cardiologist decide which patient is in urgent need of surgery.

Sahyadri Specialty Pacific Hospitals Ltd (Fiji) is bringing a team of specialists from India to perform open heart surgeries on at Colonial War Memorial Hospital in Suva from November 21 to December 2.

The hospital group’s director, Professor Manu Munibhargav, said the team hoped to perform surgeries on 40 patients from Fiji and probably some from neighbouring Pacific Island countries.

Prof Munibhargav said the cardiologist who will perform the angiograms was brought into the country through SSPHL Fiji’s associate, Deoyani Multi Specialty Hospitals in Pune, India.

“By doing the angiograms, we will be able to identify patients who urgently need open heart surgery, angioplasty or just medical management to fix the problems in their hearts,” he said.

“As stated earlier, the cost of doing an angiogram in Fiji is much cheaper than many other countries and hospitals in the world and so is the cost of heart surgery.

“The Ministry of Health and Medical Services has fixed a rate between $F25,000 and $F31,500 for the heart surgery, depending if you are a Fiji citizen, a patient with insurance or someone from overseas undergoing the procedure here.

“It comes with a package whereby patients don’t have to pay extra for any additional day they have to stay either in the intensive care unit or the wards after undergoing surgery.”

Prof Munibhargav said SSPHL was receiving numerous queries from people via email about t surgeries and other services it provided under its joint venture agreement with the Health and Medical Services Ministry. He said SSPHL Fiji was working with some donors in New Zealand and other countries to provide some financial help to Fijians who would not be able to afford the full cost of the surgery.

In the past, the company assisted some patients in getting a new lease of life by giving them between $5000 and $7000 to make up for the full cost of the surgery.

Dr Chandrashekhar Kulkarni, a senior cardiac surgeon, will again lead the team of specialists to Fiji for surgeries, which will be performed on adults only.

Enquiries can be directed to email pacifichealth2000@gmail.com.