Pacific Specialist Healthcare takes health tourism approach as envisioned by Fiji Government

The Pacific Specialist Healthcare Hospital (PSH) is ready to deliver the dreams envisioned by the Fiji Government to turn Fiji into a lucrative health tourism destination, says founder and managing director Parvish Kumar.

Reacting to recent media comments made by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation Viliame Gavoka, Mr Kumar says PSH is fully equipped with the most modern medical equipment and specialist staff to cater for this special segment of the tourism market.

“Working in line with the Fiji government’s vision to develop the health tourism sector, PSH is all geared up to live up the expectations of all stakeholders concerned and deliver world-class health services at the most competitive and cost-effective rates,” Mr Kumar said.

“The hospital is aligned to government aspirations for promoting medical tourism with the establishment of our new cardiology department and our first successful open-heart surgery last week,” Mr Kumar added.

“The 100-bed specialist hospital has modern medical equipment and highly trained specialist staff and collectively we have achieved a milestone by successfully carrying out our first open-heart surgery in Nadi.

Kusum Lata, 61, of Natabua, Lautoka went through a delicate surgical procedure known as “Coronary Artery Bypass Graft” (CABG) that was carried out by a team of highly trained Cardio Thoracic specialists.

The team carried out a “triple” graft procedure without any complications on Monday, November 11 and the patient was subsequently discharged on the following Friday after showing great signs of improvement and recovery.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation Viliame Gavoka says, the establishment and rapid expansion of Pacific Specialist Healthcare Hospital (PSH), located near the Nadi International Airport, exemplifies Fiji’s commitment to offering state-of-the-art facilities and advanced treatments.

“There is a need to develop Fiji’s health infrastructure to support locals and medical tourists,” Mr Gavoka said.

“Medical tourism involves traveling to another country for medical care, driven by factors such as cost-effectiveness, availability of treatments and quality of care.

“Fiji aims to emulate successful examples like India, which attracts many Fijians and Pacific Islanders annually for medical treatments. In 2022, approximately two percent of visitors engaged in health and medical activities in Fiji,” Mr Gavoka revealed.

Mr Gavoka states that the government is incentivizing private investment in healthcare through investment allowances for building, renovating, or expanding private hospitals.

“The medical investment package includes concessions and duty-free entry for certain medical machinery, encouraging investors to support the development of private healthcare facilities.”

Echoing similar sentiment, Tourism Fiji chief executive officer Brent Hill congratulated the team at PSH for the great achievement with their first open-heart surgery that turned out to be successful.

“On behalf of Tourism Fiji, we congratulate the team of doctors and PSH Nadi, on the significant milestone of the first open-heart surgery performed at PSH,” Mr Hill said.

“We have no doubt the patient and her family will be thrilled. For patients around the world, including in our neighbouring Pacific Islands, to know that this level of capability is available in Fiji is significant,” he added.

“Fiji is a place where the pre and post recovery can be done in the most beautiful surroundings, and we look forward to more patients being successfully treated in Fiji.”

Former president of the Fiji College of General Practitioners (FCGP), Dr Ram Raju, who is also the president of the Nadi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) says, he is proud of his association with PSH and was excited to be part of the extended team that performed the first open-heart surgery last week.

“Indeed, this is a major achievement not just for Nadi, but the entire country and this achievement should be the curtain-raiser for many great things to happen as far as complicated medical procedures and the promotion of Fiji as a quality health tourism destination is concerned,” Dr Raju said.

“It just happens to be the perfect turn of events at the right time and at the right place as I see huge growth potential in this segment.

“Giving credit where it is due, I highly praise PSH founder and managing director Parvish Kumar and his team for their commendable efforts to get the cardiology department and other specialist services off the ground.”

By SHALENDRA PRASAD