Local Nephrologist Dr Amrish Krishnan has stood his ground despite an official letter surfacing saying that the Ministry of Health supported him when he went to undertake Nephrology Training Attachment in New Zealand to fully complete his Masters in Internal Medicine Program.
Dr Krishnan told Fijivillage that there was no financial support towards his training in New Zealand.
He says he studied the first year of his Masters in Internal Medicine Program in the Fiji National University as a private student and was given the scholarship to complete the program.
Dr Krishnan says he went to a paid junior doctor position in New Zealand, which was used to pay for his stay and expenses while he was there and remained on this for the two years that he spent there.
He says the Minister for Health in his parliament address insinuated that the Ministry provided a scholarship towards his overseas training.
Dr Krishnan says he was merely correcting that misinformation, likely passed on to him from someone else in the Ministry.
Health Minister Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete had earlier stated in Parliament that government supported Dr Krishnan’s nephrology training in New Zealand.
Dr Waqainabete had said Dr Amrish Krishnan was sent across, was trained by Fiji government scholarship and he got his Masters.
Dr. Waqainabete says he was the Medical Superintendent when they supported Dr Krishnan to go for training in Taranaki.
The Health Minister had also said that this government supported his training and Dr Krishnan went to Taranaki with them.
Dr Waqainabete added that when Dr Krishnan came back, he indicated he wanted to go into private practice.
Dr Krishnan says the National Kidney Research and Treatment Centre was an initiative of the former Minster of Health, Rosy Akbar, Attorney General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum and himself to help alleviate the suffering faced by many Fijians with kidney failure and he is extremely pleased the centre will start providing dialysis treatment soon.
Krishnan says his tweet also was not meant to reflect any political party affiliation as he is for the most part apolitical, but has openly supported government initiatives in the area of Nephrology and Medicine, particularly in the setup and opening of the CWM Intensive Care Unit dialysis in 2016.
He says he is a bold advocate for people living with kidney failure and that is well aligned with his area of work.
Krishnan says his desire to work in Fiji to improve patients access to kidney health was always well known to his mentors, colleagues and patients.
