HI-TECH REHAB FOR ‘HURT’ WORKERS
Socso centre in Melaka has cutting-edge facilities to enable ‘Journey to Healing’, writes NUR AQIDAH AZIZI
MOHD Nor Azry Mohd Zain woke up in Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (HUKM) six months ago with a vague memory of the road accident that robbed him of the ability to walk.
In the Aug 12 incident, Mohd Nor Azry, 34, was riding his motorcycle to work when a car from the opposite side skidded and rammed into him.
“It happened so fast. The next thing I know, I was in the ambulance.
“I was told that I fainted for 30 minutes and was severely injured. My left hand and right leg were broken, but I could sense that my injuries were more serious than that,” he says.
His suspicions were proven true. His doctor said he was paralysed from the waist down due to injuries to the spine.
“I was devastated. I never imagined that I would be unable to walk,” says the Kelantan native who previously worked as a technician with a private company.
Hope sprang when he learnt about the Tun Abdul Razak Social Security Organisation (Socso) Rehabilitation Centre here.
The centre, located on a 22ha site in Green City, Hang Tuah Jaya, Melaka, rehabilitates workers with physical disabilities and prepares them for their return to the workforce.
“I have been following the treatments and programmes at the centre since September.
“It has been five months. I am happy that I have been able to regain some strength in my injured arm. I am confident that I will be able to walk again on my own one day,” he tells the New Sunday Times at the centre.
He says the centre does not only provide medical care and physical rehabilitation services, but also helps people like him return to work and rejoin society following injuries and diseases.
“The programmes at the centre also focus on patients’ mental health. They lift our spirits and provide social support to help us restart our lives with reduced physical abilities,” says Azry, a father of two children aged 3 and 4.
“I want to walk again and get back to work so that I can provide for my family. My wife and kids are my motivation.”
For Shakrani Abas, 57, who began using a wheelchair due to partial paralysis on the right side of the body following two strokes last year, the centre has helped him rebuild his strength, mentally and physically.
“I have been here for two weeks and I am happy to say that I can see progress,” says Shakrani, who was a postman with Pos Malaysia in Segamat.
His commitment to return to work and lead a normal life was recharged after going to the centre, but he was reluctant at first.
“My wife and kids encouraged me to come to the centre. I remember feeling so emotional as I was in disbelief,” says Shakrani, who has three children aged 21 to 28.
Accompanied by his wife, Siti Jamilah Ahmad, 49, at the centre, Shakrani says he is expected to complete his treatment at the
The centre’s deputy director of administration, Edmund Chong, says the state-of-the-art centre offers comprehensive medical and vocational rehabilitation services with cutting-edge facilities and high-tech equipment to help insured workers with injuries and diseases return to work and society.
“We use robotics to induce limb mobility in those with spinal injuries.”
He says the centre’s hydrotherapy pool allows its depth to be adjusted via a computerised system, one of the many high-tech equipment used for rehabilitation programmes at the centre.
He says the centre’s architecture symbolises the rehabilitation process and is called the “Journey to Healing”.
“It comprises the four stages of the process, namely hope, heal, rest and learn, which are turned into clusters of buildings and sequentially arranged by function.”
The centre’s administration block symbolises “hope”. The medical rehabilitation block, symbolising “heal”, was built in the image of a healing hand.
“The block has five sections to dedicate to different types of therapies — the sensory centre, aquatic centre, gymnasium, physiotherapy and occupational therapy centre,” Chong says.
He says the centre’s hostel, symbolising “rest”, can accommodate up to 350 people.
“The last block, (symbolising) ‘learn’, is where patients develop new skills according to their needs in a simulated real-life work environment.”
The vocational programmes offered at the centre include hospitality, electrical and electronics, sewing, graphic design and basic computer skills, he says.
“Food and accommodation are provided at no extra cost for the caretaker of the patient, following doctor’s recommendation,” he says, adding that the centre also provides counselling to patients between treatments.
“At Tun Abdul Razak Rehabilitation Centre, we do not only focus on getting workers back on track physically, but we also prepare them mentally, spiritually and emotionally.”