CHENNAI: The International Centre for Cardio Thoracic and Vascular Diseases, promoted by Frontier Lifeline, will sign a memorandum of understanding with the Division of Cardiac Surgery of Asahi General Hospital in Japan for exchange and training of nurses in the Japanese hospital.

In return, Japanese cardiologists will undergo short time training programmes at Frontier Lifeline in Chennai and its unit in Kerala, said K.M. Cherian, chairman.

"We conduct international qualifying examinations and English language courses for our nursing students. Sixty per cent of them leave us for foreign countries. The MoU will provide a platform for these nurses to get trained in a foreign hospital during the time they wait for visas to other countries."

For the Japanese hospital too it is a beneficial arrangement since it faces a dearth of skilled, qualified nurses. Also, the hospital staff and doctors, who interact with Indian nurses, will learn to speak English, said Kazuhiko Higuchi, director, Division of Cardiac Surgery at the hospital.

Dr. Higuchi and cardiac surgeon Hiroshi Osawa are currently undergoing training at Frontier Lifeline. The two Japanese doctors said they had heard of the Indian hospital and Dr. Cherian's expertise five years ago and have since then wanted to get trained in the hospital.

While a Japanese hospital does an average of 100 heart surgeries in a year, in India at least 1,500 cases are done. Unlike in India, an average Japanese's life expectancy is about 85 years. Elderly Japanese suffer from old-age problems such as aneurysm, atherosclerosis and coronary artery diseases. Also, with almost nil birth rate and preventive strategies for rheumatic fever, congenital heart diseases and rheumatic heart problems are unheard of. In India, though more than three lakh children are born with some form of congenital heart anomaly, only 4,000 to 5,000 children are treated, Dr. Cherian said.

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