INDIAN doctors have been sent home and a number of specialist services – including the removal of blockages to the heart – have been suspended at Fiji’s major private hospital.
MIOT Pacific Hospitals, Pramesh Sharma, has confirmed to local media that doctors have been sent back to India and that the facility’s Cath Lab and CT Scan services have been temporarily suspended.
He said the suspension of services was due to issues with supplies of consumables needed to run the facilities effectively and safely.
A Cath lab allows specialists is an examination room to look at arteries and chambers of the heart with diagnostic imaging equipment and treat any abnormalities.
This can help prevent heart attacks.
A CT Scan provides computerised images with details more precise than the usual X-Ray service provided in hospitals.
It is understood that up to 11 Indian staff of MIOT – some of them specialists – have returned to their home country.
Sharma said management was working with suppliers and technical teams to restore services as soon as possible and that staff to operate the machines would be in place once the supply issue had been resolved.
Patients with prior bookings have been advised and asked to seek alternative solutions.
It is unclear whether the Indian doctors will return to Fiji once services have been restored.