Our vision and aim is to detect more children with congenital heart disease – Dr Krupali Tappoo

Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Children’s Heart Hospital has received a $250,000 medical transporter from the Government of Japan to help boost their screening efforts to help detect children with congenital heart disease while they are also trying to secure an echo machine.

Director Doctor Krupali Tappoo says the vehicle will boost their efforts because it is a state of the art medical transporter which can be used as an ambulance.

Dr Tappoo says they will also use the vehicle for their rural outreach program.

She says since they have been having screening programs in Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, the vehicle will mainly be for internal use however if there is an emergency they will attend to it.

The Charge d’affaires ad interim of Japan to Fiji, Kenichiro Tanaka says Sai Prema Foundation’s efforts has created chances for Fijian communities of various ethnic and religious backgrounds to receive free treatment as well as specialised heart therapy.

He says the Medical Centre required transportation, mobile equipment and mobility aids to perform its duties in Fiji’s rural and distant locations.

Tanaka says they made the decision to provide this funding because they were strongly committed to enhancing the quality of health care in Fiji which will not only benefit the rural communities but also about 2000 children annually who will be able to access heart scans and specialised diagnostics.

He says the ambulance was provided through the Japanese Government’s Grant Assistance for the Project for Provision of Medical Services Vehicle for Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Medical Centre.