July 2015
Friends of Fiji Health have been conducting medical missions to Fiji for five years. It has focused on providing complex surgical procedures in the nation’s hospitals and early intervention services in rural areas. In the past two years or so it has complemented its missions with a significant focus on enhancing the capacity of Fiji’s health system and professionals.
It has done this in two ways. First, Friends of Fiji Health has been instrumental, with key partners including New Zealand hospitals, the MAA and companies like Johnson and Johnson (New Zealand) and Olympus (NZ & Australia) in equipping the Fiji Health system with some modern equipment and supplies. Secondly we have progressively added skills development opportunities to all our missions. With the availability of reliable modern equipment and skilled experts to use them Fiji’s health system is enhanced and in future will lead to reduced reliance on periodic overseas missions.
It is in this context that Friends of Fiji Health conducted the ground breaking Basic Surgical Skills Workshops in Laparoscopy and Perineal Repair from 5-7 July 2015 in Suva. This is a report on that mission.