Tonga sends patients to India for cancer surgeries [1]
Friday, February 8, 2019 - 16:46. Updated on Friday, February 8, 2019 - 16:48.
By Pesi Fonua
A first group of five Tongan patients who under went serious surgical operations in India are returning to Tonga this month, and this year more Tongan patients are expected to travel half way around the world for cancer treatments.
Arriving this week was ‘Ofa Langa’oi (21) and her carer, Pitisi Langa’oi, who were the first to travel to Hyderabad, capital of India’s southern state of Telangana on 31 December 2018.
Another three women and one man are expected to arrive back in Tonga on 18 February.
The group of five underwent serious surgical cancer operations, three for thyroid tumors and two for brain tumors.
After ‘Ofa discovered that she had a thyroid tumor she underwent an operation on her neck at Vaiola Hospital in Tongatapu last year. Then it was recommended that she be sent for further surgery overseas.
Dr ‘Ana ‘Akau’ola said that the Ministry of Health has a committee to decide on the patients to be sent for major treatment in New Zealand or Australia, if they are convinced that such treatment will prolong the life of the patients.
The Ministry pays for the airfares and treatment, but the patients would usually stay under the care of family members in New Zealand or Australia.
Unfortunately, during the past few years the cost for medical treatment, particularly for cancers, has risen in those countries.
Dr ‘Ana said there was also a disruption of communication between doctors from New Zealand and Australia and their Tongan counterparts, and they tightened up their program, “they don’t want to give us a better deal, cheaper rate. We have to pay the same price as everyone else.”
She said after they started looking for other destinations, representatives of the Apollo Hospital Enterprise Ltd. from India visited Tonga.
Dr ‘Ana admitted that when the name India was mentioned she was very sceptical, “because like most Tongans all we know about India is that they are over-populated and supposed to be very poor.”
However, during the meeting she was impressed and realised that India could be a more viable destination for Tonga to send their patients to for major surgical operations. Dr ‘Ana ‘Akau’ola, Dr Siaosi ‘Aho and two medical officers from the Ministry of Health travelled to India to see for themselves what was offered.“Their expertise was with the treatment of cancer, liver transplants, heart operations, brain operations and thyroid tumor throat operations; and they used the medical standards of the USA,” said ‘Ana.
The Apollo Hospital Enterprise Ltd. was founded by Dr Prathap C. Reddy in 1983. Dr Prathap did his post graduate studies in cardiology in the United Kingdom, before working in Chicago, USA.
Dr ‘Ana said that during a visit to the USA, Dr Prathap’s father asked his son if he could offer the same service for the people of India, as he was offering in the USA. Dr Prathap then set up the Apollo Hospital Enterprise Ltd, and the funding of the enterprise came from Indian doctors who were working in the USA, and from colleagues of Dr Prathap. Today the Apollo Hospital Enterprise today has 70 hospital throughout India, but the Apollo Hospital at Hyderabad is their biggest in treating thyroid tumors.
The expenses for the operations on the five Tongans was paid for by the Tonga Ministry of Health (airfares, accommodation and the surgery), costing about USD$30,000 per patient. The only expense that the family of the patients had to pay was the airfare of a carer to accompany the patient and his or her accommodation and living expenses while in India.
Pitisi explained that as the carer for ‘Ofa, the only expense she paid was for her airfares of around $4000 pa'anga.
She said that once they arrived in India, the Apollo Hospital provided the transport, and an air-conditioned room for the patient and her carer.
She said that the food allowance for the patient was enough to feed them both, and they enjoyed the Indian food. There was no beef or pork available, but instead fish or chicken.
Social support
Dr ‘Ana pointed out that the two main problematic areas that they had to address when they sent patients for serious operations in India were the airfares and the social support for patients that used to be provided by family members and the Tongan Community in New Zealand and Australia.
However, while the patients are in India, they are all staying in one Apollo Hospital Guest House, where a group are in one Guest House so they help each other.
In addition, there are also patients in the hospital from Fiji and Samoa, as well as patients from African and Middle Eastern countries.
Fiji has been sending patients for serious operations in India for seven years. Fiji has also sent doctors for training at Apollo, so they return and look after patients who have been treated there.
As for the airfares, the fact that an operation could take 15 days, for the patient to undergo the operation then recover and ready to go home, could add up cheaper and faster, than the process they have to go through to get an operation done in Australia, then recover and ready to go home.
Ana said that they used to send 30 or 40 patients for serious operations in New Zealand and Australia annually, but at the moment they have three more patients who are ready to go Apollo Hospital for operations and even more could follow later.