Better, Faster and Friendlier

HOSPITAL Canselor Tuanku Muhriz

(HCTM), also known as Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Medical Centre, prides itself on its comprehensive multidisciplinary expertise in many fields, making complex treatment possible in otherwise difficult situations.

Following a recent restructuring, the teaching hospital is now part of the UKM Kuala Lumpur Campus which comprises four faculties (medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and allied health sciences); two institutes (UMBI - UKM

Medical Molecular Biology Unit and i-Hears); and the two hospitals (HCTM and the Women and Children’s Hospital), led by UKM pro vicechancellor Professor Datuk Dr A. Rahman A. Jamal.

HCTM director Professor Datuk Dr Hanafiah Harunarashid said the hospital has come a long way from having 355 beds when it first operated in 1997 to accommodating 1,084 patients in its wards today. Annually it receives 600,000 outpatients and 40,000 inpatients, and conducts 40,000 operations.

“We also offer most subspecialty services as one of the tertiary referral centres in the country,” he commented, adding HCTM runs 23 postgraduate programmes to cater to the critical need for specialists in the nation.

In addition to being the first to introduce the clinical master’s programmes, and now with the biggest number of postgraduate students in the medical field, HCTM is the centre which performed the first cochlear implant in 1995.

“We are among the pioneers of laparoscopic and endoscopic surgery in the country, the first to separate conjoined Siamese twins and many other novel procedures.

“Many local inventions were born in this centre, namely our local external fixator, as well as temporal bone holder. We are the first centre to own a 3D Kinevo microscope to ensure more precise spine surgeries and have performed many complex spine surgeries on patients from all over Malaysia. We also have the OR1, the

high definition fully integrated operating theatre and hybrid operating theatre for complex endovascular and neurovascular procedures. Soon, we will have our own gamma knife centre.”

HCTM has three focus areas: education, research and clinical care.

“UKM was given the mandate in 1972 to produce locally trained doctors to serve the community. Ever since then, we have produced not only doctors but also nurses, as well as paramedics to cater for the rising number of patients.”

ACHIEVEMENTS

Via collaboration with UKM’s Medicine Faculty, HCTM has received grants to carry out research to better understand the local epidemiology of illnesses and ensure that the community is getting the latest standard of healthcare.

“We have multiple dedicated units dedicated to research. One of them is the tissue engineering department which is actively involved in regenerative medicine to be assimilated into the clinical setting. It has successfully created a bioengineered autologous skin called MyDerm which has been helpful in cases of chronic wounds.”

UMBI, which was formed in 2003 as one of the strategies to enhance research in molecular medicine and is recognised as a Higher Institution Centre of Excellence by the Education Ministry,

is also active in research involving cancer biomarkers, functional genomics, infectious disease and stem cell biology. UMBI has key laboratories providing platform technologies and analyses in genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics. For clinical care, HCTM aims to be the top hospital in the country providing patients comprehensive healthcare services in line with its new tagline BFF — Better, Faster and Friendlier with measures put in place for speedy admission and discharge processes such as ward dispensing of medications.

“In the near future, we aim to provide postal services to many parts of Malaysia to provide patients their medications.”

In terms of achievements this year, HCTM’s has had quite a few. In the beginning of the year, the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh opened its first international office at the hospital’s Advanced Surgical Skills centre.

“This partnership with the oldest surgical college in the world will ensure trainees in Malaysia and the region will be able to undergo further training and become more competent internationally. Our team is involved in the national curriculum development, ensuring standardised quality training in medical fields at all levels.

“The hospital has become a centre for international examinations, such as the intercollegiate The Membership Examination of the Surgical

Royal Colleges of Great Britain and Ireland, and The Joint Surgical Colleges’ Fellowship Examination. Recently, the Maldives government signed an agreement with UKM to start the first medical school in the country, as a recognition of HCTM’s international reputation.

“We continue to be the hub for international postgraduate fellowship training, with trainees coming from as far as Africa and parts of Asia, and many returning to become leading specialists in their field.

“We will continue our endeavours at the forefront of research in our strong areas such as genomics, regenerative medicine, bariatric surgery, endocrinology, renal replacement therapy and neurosciences, just to name a few. Some of our lecturers have been awarded fellowships by prestigious international institutions, continuing a tradition led by our predecessors.”

CHALLENGES

Dr Hanafiah said there are many challenges especially with the rise in medical consumerism both locally and globally, and the advent of Industrial Revolution 4.0.

With the democratisation movement in healthcare where the public can access information on social media, Dr Hanafiah said the onus is on the healthcare provider to live up to the community’s expectations.

“To do so, we ensure that the hospital is equipped with state-of-the-art technology and equipment, and the doctors are constantly being trained to keep abreast of the latest skills and knowledge. All these efforts require not only cooperation from multiple agencies, government and the university but are also at a huge cost to be translated into quality and comprehensive healthcare,” he said, adding that HCTM aims to develop a total health information system to improve services and provide better facilities.

“We have the duty to ensure society receives comprehensive quality healthcare. In the short term, we aim to be the hospital to be able to empower and educate the community in terms of healthcare to ensure as Malaysia progresses, we are able to prolong the lifespan of healthy individuals, allowing the community to grow and prosper healthily.

“In the long term, we aim to be the centre of reference not only in the country but also the region for patients to seek comprehensive state-of-the-art medical treatment. Both these responsibilities are synergistic as we are the centre which gives rise to the many doctors, specialists, nurses and paramedics who will eventually spread HCTM wings throughout Malaysia. With the nurturing of great individuals, we will be able to provide great services, not only within our centre but also throughout the nation.”