Sh3bn saved as heart surgeries done locally
JKCI Executive Director Prof Mohamad Janabi
What you need to know:
According to a performance report published by the Heart Institute recently, surgery costs for patients operated in 2016 at the Institute was Sh1.6 billion, a 65 per cent cost reduction, compared to the projected costs had the cases been done in India (Sh4.7 billion).
Dar es Salaam. The Jakaya Cardiac Institute (JKCI) has saved the nation a total of Sh3.1 billion by handling heart-related cases locally, a recent report revealed. According to a performance report published by the Heart Institute recently, surgery costs for patients operated in 2016 at the Institute was Sh1.6 billion, a 65 per cent cost reduction, compared to the projected costs had the cases been done in India (Sh4.7 billion).
In some occasions, the JKCI has been in working with visiting teams of foreign doctors in conducting surgery workshops, thus cutting costs for patients.
Between 2016 and the first half of this year, the local team has treated at least 1,000 cardiac cases, while its counterpart Uganda is reported to conducted only 885 adult cardiac procedures in five years, reflecting a huge role the Institute is playing offering health services in the country.
According to the report, the trend of patients being referred to India with heart diseases has declined by 95.51 percent, from 159 patients (106 male and 53 female) to only 4 patients (male 1 and 3 female) in 2012 and 2016 respectively.
Others include 198 patients (111 male and 87 female), 178 patients (102 male and 76 female), 89 patients (50 male and 39 female) in 2013, 2014 and 2015 respectively, according to the report.
Speaking to The Citizen, the executive director of JKCI, Prof Mohamad Janabi, assured that the overseas trips will no longer be necessary because most of the heart operations can now be performed at the Institute.
He noted that they were committed to working closely with donors in saving the lives of children by undertaking critical lifesaving surgeries and creating self-sustaining surgical initiatives.
“Previously, heart patients from the country went abroad, mostly to India, for treatment. Now, however, those medical trips overseas will no longer be taking place, except in some very special or advanced cases,” explained Prof Janabi.
