Technology in health delivery has revolutionised health care globally in the last 60 years.
Technology applications although not synonymous with quality care play an important role. Clearly, technologies benefit clinical outcomes in terms of diagnosis, therapy and reduce adverse outcomes.
The last two years have seen a revoluntary rebranding of health reform processes in Fiji’s Ministry of Health, especially in the area of technology upgrade.
Outright purchase of new equipment to replace old, dilapidated equipment is well underway in areas of prevention and curative care. The purchases of essential equipment to outfit our base and sub divisional facilities have been instituted.
In 2009 a sum of $9.4million was utilized to upgrade technology: ventilators, anesthetic machines, cardiac monitors, treadmills and echocardiograms. This equipment has been installed to raise standards at the three base hospitals. The purchases direct from manufacturers and wholesalers were undertaken in most cases.
Installation of computerised and digital radiology for Suva and Lautoka has resulted. Labasa will follow soon with digital radiology. Computer Axial Tomography (CAT) Scanners have been installed in all three facilities with great benefit in patient diagnosis and management.
The Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at CWM Hospital was installed in mid 2009. The equipment is fully operational as we progress to make the services available on a daily basis. The equipment worth $1.8m was donated by Rotary Club of Suva with additional infrastructural financial support from the Tappoos Group of companies as part of their corporate social responsibilities.
In 2010 at a cost of $2.4m all 19 sub-divisional hospitals have had ultrasound equipment and x-ray machines in place. The process of commission is in progress for these equipments.
In 2011 at a cost of $1m, shortly the peripheral laboratories will be outfitted with better quality computerized equipment to monitor communicable and non communicable diseases.
The need to outfit our district teams with basic NCD equipment/kits are being explored. These will include scales, stethoscopes, sphymomameters, glucometers and measuring tapes.
The support services in the form of hospital laundry equipment is well on the way to improvement with all western hospital laundries with semi-automated washing machines, dryers and ironing equipment to better handle hospital linen and reduce risk of cross infections. The process of upgrade will involve CWM Hospital, all facilities in the north and finally Lautoka Hospital. The laundry project cost $2.8m in 2009 and part of the total allocation of $9.4m to technology.
The Government of Fiji has allocated a further $2.0m for the installation and commissioning of Ministry of Health first Magnetic Resonance Imager/Imaging (MRI) in the last quarter of 2011 and other base hospital equipment to the value of $1.2m for ventilators, laparoscopic and cardiovascular equipment for the tertiary establishments.
With all the technology components being commissioned necessary measures to provide training to our medical, nursing and allied health graduates needs major input locally and abroad. Close to a $1.m was spent in 2010 for this purpose. A similar sum will be used in 2011.
Conclusion
Technology is only one component of health care delivery. The human face of health care needs refocusing with better customer focus and restrategizing our objectives to Millennium Development Goals in 2015 and beyond.
Addressing the onslaught on Non Communicable Diseases is to be addressed very actively in the next decade. Otherwise we will be the first generation of human burying our progeny from the complications of Non Communicable Diseases.
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