Toxic fish
for three years
TWENTY species of fish, some commonly consumed in homes around the country should be avoided for the next three years. The fish will have been contaminated by the ciguatera toxin, which the Fisheries Department says has a bigger risk than it should because of Severe Tropical Cyclone Winston. Director Research at the Fisheries Department Aisake Batibasaga said the fish, some known to have toxins all-year round, will contain more toxins in the summer months and cause fish poisoning. Mr Batibasaga confirmed the alert arose out of joint surveillance between the Ministry of Fisheries and the Ministry of Health following the fatal fish poisoning on Gau in the first few days of the year.
Prostate
cancer
MORE men in Fiji die from prostate cancer than those in Australia and New Zealand. This is the view of Dr Richard Hudson, a physician from Launceston General Hospital in Tasmania, Australia. He is in the country for a month, leading presentations for the Prostate Cancer Federation of Australia under the auspices of Rotary. “I have been coming to Fiji three times a year for the past three years and my primary focus is to make people more aware of the symptoms of prostate cancer and to stimulate more discussion on what is considered a taboo subject area,” Dr Hudson said.
X-ray
woes
THE reason patients were unable to get X-rays done at hospitals in the Western Division was because of a shortage of films and chemicals. This was confirmed by the Health and Medical Services Ministry. The Fiji Times has been inundated with complaints from low income earners and the poor who travelled some distance to hospitals in the West only to be informed that X-rays were unavailable. In response to queries, the ministry said the process currently in use to develop X-rays was being phased out. “All radiology departments should be now fully operational since the supplies of films and chemicals have arrived and has been distributed,” the ministry said. “X-rays and other imaging services are used by doctors to diagnose a wide range of conditions. “As such they are a vital part of any modern health system and the Ministry of Health and Medical Services is committed to ensuring that all Fijians have access to services when and where their doctors decide they need them. Wet film processing of X-rays is an out-dated system which will soon be phased out in Fiji. In line with global best practices, Fiji is moving to adopt digital imaging and so the chemicals used for wet film processing will soon no longer be required. “Where we do still rely on wet film, the films and chemicals we need have to be sourced from overseas. “The fact that use of wet film processing is reducing across the world means there are fewer suppliers and as such we have limited choice over where we can buy from. “The time it takes for supplies to reach Fiji can vary depending on transport schedules and the availability of stock at suppliers.”
Diabetes
shocker
THE Ministry of Health and Medical Services revealed that since 2000, an average of 1300 people have been dying in the country from diabetes each year.
Four
dead
HEALTH ministry confirmed the World Health Organization would investigate the recent deaths of four babies at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital from a suspected bacterial infection.
800 cases
a year
THE Ministry of Health and Medical Services revealed an average of 800 cases of upper and lower endoscopic examinations were received by the ministry every year.
791 limbs
cut off
ASSISTANT Health and Medical Services Minister Alexander O’Connor revealed 791 amputations were recorded in 2016 compared with 669 in 2015.
Children with
cancer
MINISTER for Health and Medical Services Rosy Akbar revealed an estimated 45 new cases of cancer in children under the age of 15 were diagnosed every year in Fiji. · The Fiji Cancer Society revealed cancer was already responsible for 10 per cent of all deaths in Fiji, with a total of 1280 new cases recorded annually, and continuing to increase.
Cancer
cases rise
THE number of people diagnosed with cancer over the past decade has more than tripled from an average of between 300 to 500 per year to more than 1000, says Sub Divisional Medical Officer West Dr Susana Nakalevu. Speaking at the Bushells Fiji’s Biggest Morning Tea at the Motibhai Group headquarters in Nadi on September 30, she said the sharp increase in reported cancer cases was alarming.
Data
keeping
RECORD documentation and data keeping of patients who are admitted to the Colonial War Memorial Hospital (CWMH) in Suva is not consistently available, a report compiled by the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) team has revealed. The World Health Organization team was tasked by the Ministry of Health and Medical Services to find the common source of the Acinetobacter baumannii outbreak, which occurred at CWM Hospital between December last year and March this year.
Midwives given
assurance
THE Attorney-General and Minister for Economy, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, has assured midwives that their work will be recognised as they become part of the reform program that the Health and Medical Services Ministry is undergoing. He made the statement while addressing concerns by a group of midwives from the Lautoka Hospital saying midwives are under the new specialised category.
Best health
care
PROPER and well-resourced health care is vital for a developing country such as Fiji. Analysing the latest results of the Tebbutt Times Poll on the country’s health sector, University of the South Pacific economist Dr Neelesh Gounder said despite 58 per cent of those surveyed being satisfied with the health services, quality care was imperative.
“Despite the overall satisfaction, waiting time is a major challenge selected by the majority facing the health system. It is not surprising as waiting can be time consuming and lead to waste of working hours and productivity.”
Heart failure
deaths
THE Health Ministry linked climatic conditions to deaths caused by heart failure in the country.
