Mobile clinic goes a long way in rural Sarawak
Bernama journalist Sakini Mohd Said recently followed a mobile clinic mission organised by UMW and Mercy Malaysia to Julau, a district in Sarikei Division. The journey is about 120km by road and boat. This is the final of a two-part series that explores the difficulties routinely endured by the rural communities in accessing healthcare services.
SARIKEI: Sangan Panggau woke up early that morning and excitedly made her way down to the river.
She had heard that there would be a mobile clinic set up at the Anthony Bau Longhouse, a two-hour journey by ‘sampan’ (row- boat) from the Mengiring Longhouse, where she lived.
“I heard from a friend that a mobile clinic was coming so I did not want to miss the opportunity to get a health screening. I woke up as early as 6am and hitched a ride on my friend’s sampan to get here,” she told Bernama when met at the Anthony Bau Longhouse, a few hours later.
The 48-year- old has been suffering from high blood pressure, eye problems and toothache for a long time but had been unable to get medical treatment for her ailments.
“I was diagnosed with blood pressure last year so I needed to go for the medical check-up to get the medication for it. In addition to that, two of my teeth have been aching badly for some time now.
“The doctor had asked me to get those teeth filled in, but that would mean that I would have to go to the Sibu Hospital. That would be a far and difficult journey for me, so I asked to have those teeth pulled out instead. I feel that those who did not come to the clinic are missing out on a lot because it has been so difficult for us to get health checks, she said. Free clinic Unlike those who live in urban settings who have easy road and healthcare access , the Iban community who live in the deep interiors of Sarawak have to undertake a lengthy and gruelling journey to gain access to medical care.
That is why the mobile clinic programme, organised by UMW Corporation Sdn Bhd ( UMW) with the cooperation of the Medical Relief Society Malaysia ( Mercy Malaysia) , is seen as a huge blessing by the rural folk in Sarawak.
The programme was held at the Anthony Bau Longhouse in Nanga Sugai, Rantau Tapang, Mujok.
The free clinic ran from 8am to 9pm and was managed by a team of Mercy Malaysia medical professionals and volunteers. They were part of the entourage of 41 to the village that also included the media and UMW staff.
The programme did not only benefit the Iban community at Anthony Bau, but from the nearby Mengiring , Gerasi Kapi , Entili and Anthony Gelayan longhouses as well as the pupils at SK Nanga Ju – as estimated 700 residents in total.
They turned up for the checkup and waited in line as early as 8am.
Despite the long wait , none of them complained. In fact , they seemed excited and almost impatient to meet the doctor. Costly This is understandable seeing as a trip to the doctor’s would require them to spend not only a small fortune, but hours of journey.
Long , motorised sampans are the main mode of transportation there and the journey to the nearest health clinic – in Nanga Maong – would involve a twohour journey across Sungai Mujok from the Anthony Bau longhouse.
The length of the journey also depends on the river condition and water level. Shallow waters means a longer journey as there would be a need to get down to push or pull the sampan to deeper waters.
Sadly, the clinic in Nanga Maong does not even have a doctor on duty. Patients would have to contend with being attended to by a nurse. Those with chronic illnesses should head straight to the Sibu Hospital or Sarikei Hospital – a trip that would undoubtedly incur additional costs and time.
To get to Sibu Hospital , for example, those living around Sungai Mujok would have to traverse the river to Pangkalan Entabai. This is a journey that would take between four and five hours. They would then have travel 120km via land transportation.
“If you don’t have RM700 or more, do not even dare to go out and seek medical treatment at the hospital. You wouldn’t have enough as that would only cover the cost of the sampan fuel to and from Anthony Bau and Pangkalan Entabai.
“Add to that the cost of the land transportation and lodging in Sibu, as you would not be able to meet the doctor on the same day. My uncle died of cancer because he could not afford to get treatment,” Sangan said. Beneficial Many of the residents there have unstable income as majority of them are farmers. When it comes to illnesses and injuries , many would prefer to grit their teeth and bear the pain until they can no longer take it. This is all because of the prohibitive cost of getting to a hospital.
That was what happened to Mandu Sumping, 38, whose child had been suffering from diarrhoea for over a week then. She had been trying to keep him hydrated and staving off the pain by feeding him plain water, due to the difficulty in getting medical aid.
“It is hard to even get RM100 because of the erratic sales of black pepper. There are ‘ flying service doctors’ who come down to SK Nanga Ju but they don’t come on a monthly basis. By the time I reach the school, they had already gone back.
“I am immensely grateful for mobile clinics like this because I can finally get my child treated. I hope they would hold this programme here again in the future,” she said.
Dr Ayu Akida Abd Rashid, who headed the mission’s medical team , said among the services provided by the clinic were blood pressure screening and dental treatment.
They also distributed hygiene kits and medicines.
She said the Iban community there were generally in good health. However, many had joint and muscle pains due to the nature of their work as farmers , which requires them to climb hills and carry heavy equipment and tools.
The team provided not only medication but talks and physiotherapy exercises as well. The residents were taught exercises that would help with joint and muscle pains.
“This is my second time down here — the first being in 2013, for the same mission. I found that their health awareness have much improved.
“They complied with the instructions for taking their medications , did not delay in going to see the doctor when their medication was running out and had a lot of questions regarding health. They made full use of the mobile clinic,” she said.
Martin Jandom, the chairman of Mercy Malaysia’s Sarawak division said the mobile clinic was held at the location in acknowledgement of the difficulties of the residents in seeking medical aid.
He said Mercy Malaysia would usually spend a month preparing for such missions , taking into account their budget, the location, logistics and medication needed to realise the programme. UMW’s commitment The UMW general manager of corporate communications Badrul Rahman said UMW had partnered with Mercy Malaysia to realise its corporate social responsibility programmes since 2009.
Its programmes have benefited over 25,000 people in rural Sabah and Sarawak so far, he said.
“We have planned out four programmes with Mercy for 2018 — three in Sabah and one in Sarawak. Two programmes in Sabah as well as the one in Sarawak have already been realised.
“We allocated RM150,000 to Mercy Malaysia this year for the purpose and hope that mobile clinics like this could help ease their (rural folk’s) burden,” he said.
UMW volunteers who go on such missions are required to first undergo training by Mercy Malaysia to prepare them for the unexpected.
“Many seem to think that medical missions are a piece of cake, but the truth is not all volunteers can put up with journeying through jungles and using makeshift toilets.
“We are prepared, and prepared to sponsor this programme for years to come,” said Badrul.