BY BEN BILUA
ALL fathers have their vision and plans for their children and always wanted their children to grow up and became somebody in life.
Fathers’ esteem is to see their children achieve bigger things in life, live a good life and give back to communities and the country.
Not every son does their father proud and it’s a challenge for every man to make sure his father’s wish comes true.
Early this week, I came across an interesting testimony of two brothers bound with identical interest in the health and medical profession.
These two brothers both hold Doctoral credentials in health and medical and are now ready to establish a private emergency clinic in Honiara to honour their father’s wish.
The clinic which will be called Togamae Private Emergency Clinic is expected to open its doors next week.
For the past three years after their father late Cecil Togamae’s passing on January 19, 2015, Drs Pedical Togamae and Ishmael Togamae architected the plan that will soon become fruitful in the next few days.
On January 19 (2018) these two brothers went back to their home province in Isabel to commemorate the installment of their father’s tomb stone at Tirotona village.
Ishmael and his family have to travel all the way from the United States where he works and lives to Solomon Islands to join his little brother Pedical and family members during the important ceremony.
Their journey continued after the blessing of their father’s tomb stone as now they are working together to open the clinic named after their father.
“In loving memory of our late father Chief Cecil Togamae born on the 26th of December 1938 and died on the 19th of January 2015, we decided that it is the best time to make our father’s wish come true,” Pedical said when Island Sun interviewed him early this week.
“Our late father always told us to use our gifts to help other people and now that he (my father) is not with us, we decided that establishing a clinic after his name will give us comfort and strength to continue this life,” he added.
Pedical said there are also other reasons that lead him and his brother to take the challenge, one is to improve emergency services in Honiara.
He said Togamae Private Emergency Clinic’s mission and vision is to provide an alternative quality healthcare to the populace of Honiara.
Seeing the one and only emergency service at the National Referral Hospital has been stretched over the past years due to lack of fund and support from responsible authorities, Pedical said establishing a new emergency clinic with full time business and professionals is very important to save lives.
“As a Doctor, I want to treat my patients on evidence and that’s where I realise after I went and train in Fiji for my postgraduate diploma in Emergency medicine.
“Currently blood tests done at the NRH Emergency department on odd hours (night) cannot be processed, adding some very important blood tests that could alter management of cases can’t be done.
“This setbacks occurred because there is no fund available to pay reagent leaving patients at great risk.
“Seeing all these? I sacrifice myself with the support of my elder brother to start this clinic and I am not able to go back to continue my study for Masters in Emergency medicine,” he said.
Over the years, Pedical was very vocal in raising the poor condition at Emergency Department.
In 2015 and 2016 he was instrumental in voicing out what was going on at the NRH Emergency department.
At one stage he was summoned by the Hospital’s Management warning him not to report issues affecting the hospital more especially the Emergency Department.
One incident I remember was the poor ventilation at the Emergency Room.
The incident was made public and after a week a local company stepped in and assisted the hospital by donating 16 or so air conditioners.
According to Pedical, working under someone above as the boss limits the possibilities to respond to the need of the people and also what the doctors and nurses want to see improvement in a Hospital setting.
“I want to be my own boss and run a clinic the way I like focusing more on evidence based medicine where lab facility is available and imaging can be done as fast as I need,” he said.
Whilst the plan is sweet as how its looks, Pedical said starting up an emergency clinic will be challenging but with determination he said it is better to start somewhere and get the setting, machines and medicine that he is dreaming for in the past years.
He said Togamae Private Emergency Clinic foresee proper machines and medication that would provide an alternative quality healthcare to the populace of Honiara.
“I understand that it’s going to be done with some cost but I believe, at least we have facility that does the test rather than nothing.
“I believe, people can afford to meet the costs because life is precious and it always comes with some cost,” Pedical said.
Equipment needed for the clinic set-up is all set except for an ECG machine which is currently on its way to Solomon Islands from Australia with laboratory machines and ultrasound machine to arrive very soon.
His older brother Ishmael, who has a licence to practise and work in the United States of America, is an advantage to the clinic’s set up as some of the essential machines needed will be procured from the United States.
Pedical said his brother’s experience working in a 1st world class country like USA is a bonus for the clinic to effectives deliver best services.
“My dream is to have all the equipment that supposed to be in the Emergency Department to meet the quality of care I want.
“In addition to that, learning from my elder brother will be a great achievement,” he said.
Services that are expected to be available at Togamae Private Emergency Clinic includes; general outpatient and emergency cases, lab services includes malaria test, full blood counts and biochemistry tests, dispensing medicines, keeping patients overnight while on treatment, doing patient referral to specialists or overseas and further services includes escorting patients from any destination and home visit.
This means that you can be seen at your comfort home for nursing care or doctors can come and visit patients at your home.
