Sunday, 23 January 2022
The outbreak of Coronavirus cases in the Solomon Islands grew yesterday to more than 169 with one associated death having been recorded.
The rapid spread of the pandemic clearly puts more pressure on the government, front liners and on the medical services, but none more so than on the National Referral Hospital (NRH) which has seen the medical executive there to have to take step to protect the lives of patients in care and being treated there, Some temporary closure of services have occurred.
The Ministry of Health has also announced the emergency department at the NRH will not do swabs to test asymptomatic patients.
Also the MHMS has said if patients are not showing signs and symptoms of being sick, such as runny nose, coughing, fever and shortness of breath they will not be swabbed for tests.
The management has undertaken the decision to limit the number of people coming into the ED as the department is now a high- risk area for COVID-19 transmission.
The Hospital Management has called on the support and cooperation of the public in this regard.
The Ministry of Health had earlier stated that resources at the hospital and lab are already fully stretched, and will continue to be stretched as the virus is expected to spread.
The NRH is currently accepting emergency cases and referrals only, with patients being told to visit Honiara Town Council (HTC) clinics if they feel unwell.
My concern for patients at the NRH, especially those suffering from heart conditions associated with rheumatic heart disease, including a large proportion of children, is well known,
The diagnosis of rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease in the past was generally undertaken by visiting cardiologists and surgeons from Australian members of ROMAC, Oceania Medical Aid for Children Pty Ltd.
Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic Romac specialist teams have not visited the NRH and my understanding, subject to correction, there is not the medical expertise and equipment locally to properly diagnose RH Patients, or those having the more serious heart related conditions, such as the one involving the case of baby Israel I wrote about in the last few days, not forgetting the case of the 11 year old boy with RHD I also wrote about.
My concerns also includes all patients suffering from major illnesses and diseases where there is not the specialist medical determination and treatment available at the NRH, including those with serious cardiology issues of the heart, also cancer and liver patients, diabetic patients and those having had surgery and lost a limb.
For those patients that might have been found suitable for offshore transfer and the possibility of an operation to assist their chances of recovery, there is not the money to see to their medical transfer, and again I raise the need for more funding for the NRH and for it to have its own independent budget.
The Solomon Islands has an extended number of diplomatic ties and arrangements with international agencies that have contributed substantially over the years since independence was attained in 1978 but in the time since then the population, due to the huge birth rate, year on year, plus people living longer, has seen the services at the NRH inadequate in many respects in regard to diagnosis and treatment of those patients in the categories I have already mentioned.
The Solomon Islands newest diplomatic partner the PRC Government of China has forecast it will update, if not fully rebuild, the NRH, but there is no evidence of this yet.
Chinese PRC personnel are working on the infrastructure and building projects for the Pacific Games to be hosted in Honiara in 2023 and workers flown in from China for such developments.
Currently international flight arrivals and sea arrivals are on hold due to the outbreak of covid cases having occurred in Honiara and spread into some of the provinces.
Once the current covid threat has eased, I would urge the SIG to try and re-negotiate for ROMAC specialists to return to the NRH to re-engage in their examinations of patients with a view to the treatment of those who can be dealt with at home, and alternatively advise on those who could be sent offshore for treatment if funding can be provided by ROMAC, or with SIG funding through new budgetary provisioning.
Alternatively, the government might want to engage with the PRC government for the long term visit of the fully equipped and medically staffed hospital ship the Daishan Dao, a humanitarian vessel assigned to the South Sea Fleet and based out of Zhoushan in Zhejiang province. She has a capacity of 300 beds, 20 ICU beds, 8 operating theatres, and can perform 40 major surgeries a day, in addition to X-ray, ultrasound, CT, hypothermia, hemodialysis.
The vessel is also equipped with a remote networking and communications system to allow teleconferencing with doctors and specialists on land.
In accordance with the Geneva Conventions, Daishan Dao and her crew do not carry any offensive weapons, while the ship is painted white with red crosses to mark her as a hospital ship.
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
