By Tupou Vaipulu Jr.
A medivac flight on Sunday airlifted a critically ill teenager from Niuatoputapu to Tongatapu for emergency treatment at Vaiola Hospital yesterday.
An 18-year-old boy, who was diagnosed with respiratory pneumonia, was fighting for his life.
Head Doctor at Niuatoputapu, Dr. Semi Akauola told Matangi Tonga that the boy was in critical condition when he left Niuatoputapu for Tongatapu, on 30 March.
“We were down to our last oxygen tank when the plane arrived,” he said.
Dr. Semi said that the boy was admitted to the hospital on Monday, 24 March, after he was diagnosed with pneumonia.
After several treatments and with the clinic running low on oxygen gas tanks, the patient still didn’t show any signs of recovery, he said
Dr. Semi requested the CEO of the Ministry of Health, Reynold Ofanoa, to provide a medevac service for the patient on Friday, 28 March.
The Lulutai Twin Otter, chartered by the Ministry of Health, left Tongatapu at 6:00 am on Sunday and arrived in Niuatoputapu at 8:30 AM.
The return flight stopped briefly at Vava'u, and arrived back on Tongatapu with the patient at around noon.
Initially, the medevac was scheduled to fly to Niuatoputapu on Saturday to avoid breaking the sabbatical laws. However, due to safety reasons, the aircraft was delayed for another day.
Dr. Akau'ola said that the aircraft needed to be carefully modified to safely transfer the patient from Niuatoputapu to Tongatapu.
It is understood that the patient was now stable but had not regained consciousness.
