Time has given Tonga a great opportunity to prepare itself for the virus and any cases that it might produce. The question is, has this time been used wisely and with urgency to prepare Tonga for the future risks? Those risks, however small, exist even now. Aid money is coming in. Using that to build up the capacity of the health system now means that this can be kept for the future. Wouldn’t it be great if Vaiola were to have a state-of-the-art five-bed ICU that can treat anyone who needs that level of care even after CoViD-19 abates? The staff can do it, if only the facility is there. And it could be. And so we await the arrival of the virus.
I hope Tonga is well prepared when it does.... - Dr Russ Schedlich
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Results for Vaiola Hospital
Friday 3 April 2020
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The allocation of $60 million for an Economic and Social Stimulus Package that was announced by the Prime Minister Hon. Dr Pohiva Tu‘i‘onetoa yesterday, 2 April “was not very smart” according to concerned Vaiola Hospital doctors, who believe we should be seriously preparing for the arrival of CoViD-19. Do we have 30,000 hospital beds? The answer, of course, is no. By Pesi Fonua.
Wednesday 1 April 2020
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga’s two weeks isolation from 23 March, in an effort to stop the CoViD-19 from entering the country, is buying time for Health authorities to prepare for a possible influx of the deadly virus when borders re-open. But there are mixed reactions from the community while Tonga remains in isolation from the world.
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Wednesday 25 March 2020
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Two British medical students have found themselves stuck in Tonga and unable to return home after Tonga closed its borders earlier this week to prevent COVID-19 from entering the country.
Wednesday 11 March 2020
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga does not have any cases of coronavirus COVID-19 the Vaiola Hospital confirmed this evening. A doctor said that the second test on a person with pneumonia that was sent to New Zealand on Saturday had returned a negative result today.
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Saturday 7 March 2020
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Samples, taken from a suspected coronavirus COVID-19 case in Tonga this week, arrived in Australia yesterday and are on their way to a Melbourne laboratory for testing.
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Wednesday 4 March 2020
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
When Dr Duke Mataka became Tonga’s Ophthalmologist in 2018, he filled a post that had been vacant for a decade following the departure of Dr Afu Taumoepeau. Last year alone they carried out 500 operations, mainly cataract treatments.
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Friday 3 January 2020
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Prime Minster Hon Pohiva Tu‘i‘onetoa received a free general medical examination by Chinese medical professionals this morning, 3 January, at the Tanoa Hotel in Nuku’alofa.
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Thursday 2 January 2020
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Only one baby was born on New Year’s Day, welcoming the new decade, on Tongatapu at Vaiola Hospital. Siokatame Mataele Po‘oi made his entrance into the world at 11:24am.
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Wednesday 20 November 2019
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A new containerized laboratory from New Zealand has been setup at Vaiola Hospital after being transported from Queen Salote Wharf yesterday, 19 November.
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Tuesday 17 September 2019
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A team of 35 medical professionals from Open Heart International (OHI) in Australia are currently in Tonga performing open heart surgery on locals with rheumatic heart disease. The lead surgeon stressed that Tongans need to try and prevent acute rheumatic fever, a disease that occurs from having tonsillitis that is not treated with antibiotics early enough.
Friday 13 September 2019
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A new ambulance donated from the Rotary Club of Christchurch Sunrise in New Zealand was handed over to Vaiola Hospital on September 12.
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Thursday 8 August 2019
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Training is being held at Vailoa Hospital to update medical staff on endoscopy, a non surgical procedure used to examine one's digestive tract.
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Wednesday 7 August 2019
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Some Tongans with serious heart conditions may miss out on life changing heart surgery, because medical staff at Vaiola Hospital have been unable to contact them by telephone. Dr Loutoa Poese today urged missing patients, who had been identified with heart conditions, to contact the clinic urgently, because the Open Heart International team arrives from Australia soon.
Friday 3 May 2019
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A team of around 50 medical staff from different countries, including Australia and New Zealand, will volunteer their services to treat Tongans with heart conditions at Vaiola Hospital from September 3-21. Dr Siaosi ‘Aho said healthy Tongans can assist by visiting the hospital to donate their blood. “We need to increase the blood bank before the team arrives and we really need blood donors.”
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Monday 1 April 2019
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Brisbane, Australia
The Ear-Nose-Throat (ENT) section at Vaiola Hospital will benefit from a Zeiss Microscope that was donated by Brisbane members of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) under their Pacific Islands Project program.
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Thursday 14 February 2019
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Free medical services by Chinese medical teams are being provided in Nuku’alofa, under a two-year volunteer program that began last year. By Eleanor Gee
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Thursday 3 January 2019
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
New Year’s Day welcomed four babies in Tongatapu and Vava'u, with the first born just 20 minutes after midnight at the capital's Vaiola Hospital. A healthy baby boy named Kevin Joseph Toke, from Ha‘ateiho, weighed 3.4kg. Kevin was among an estimated 740 babies to be born in the Pacific islands on New Year's Day.
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Tuesday 11 September 2018
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A 25-year-old woman is in Vaiola Hospital after sustaining serious injuries when she was hit by a vehicle while walking in Havelu on Sunday morning, September 9.
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Wednesday 8 August 2018
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A new biochemistry analyser that will allow medical tests to be done in Tonga instead of being sent overseas was received at the laboratory in Vaiola Hospital, on Monday August 6.
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