Funded by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) and delivered by the Pasifika Medical Association (PMA) Group, this event is a major step forward in healthcare for Vanuatu. The specialist team, based at the Vila Central Hospital, screened ten patients, six of whom successfully received pacemakers.
Vila Central Hospital’s Consultant Physician Dr Minado Paul, spoke on the impact that the team had made.
“They inserted six pacemakers and one ICD, a total of seven. They also reviewed our cases, carrying out interrogations on patients with pacemakers already inserted from before, and carried out training and CME sessions. They also donated equipment to us, such as monitors, and an ECG machine. They left behind a Medtronic machine so that we can send digital information to New Zealand.
“We appreciate what they’ve done for us. Even though we are still dependent on visiting teams coming in, this visit has left us better equipped to care for our patients.”
Dr Paul shares what she hopes will come as result of this significant event.
“We anticipate that people will be a bit more aware of services that pacemaker services exist, and less afraid of using it. We hope to have more doctors here trained to be able to analyze rhythms, and to use the Medtronic to send information back to New Zealand and have garnered interest from young aspiring doctors to become interventional cardiologists.”
Leading the team was Ms Fiona Riddell, an Auckland-based cardiac physiologist, who has garnered over twenty years of volunteer service in the Pacific. Ms. Riddell, who also chairs the Pacific Island Pacemakers Services, emphasised the profound impact of this achievement.
“The number of patients in the Pacific Islands who have been fortunate to travel overseas and receive the lifesaving operation of a pacemaker insertion is extremely small. Those who cannot afford to travel are denied this lifesaving treatment.
“There is no substitute treatment for a pacemaker implant. Lifestyle modifications will not save a life. The benefits extend beyond the patients whose lives are saved; they touch their families and empower local medical teams.”
A pacemaker, a device that regulates heart function, is crucial in addressing many cardiac conditions. The introduction of this service in Vanuatu has the potential to transform countless lives in a region with some of the highest rates of heart conditions per capita.
Ms. Riddell expressed deep gratitude for being part of this ground-breaking event.
“I feel very privileged to have been part of the team that undertook the first pacemaker insertion in Vanuatu, and I know my other team members felt the same way. We hope this is just the beginning.”
Photo source | Health Promotions Vanuatu