‘Donations help in providing health facilities’
KOTA SAMARAHAN: Nongovernmental organisations ( NGOs) and individuals are a great help in preparing health facilities for the people in line with efforts of the government and donations of medical equipment received from corporate bodies.
According to Yang di- Pertua Negeri Tun Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, the government was making an effort to handle the matter but it might be limited and needed additional support from NGOs and individuals as well.
“Our efforts as a citizen in contributing or donating health facilities complement the effort of the government. It intensifies the efforts that have been started by the government as well as reinforcing the service to the people from the health aspect,” he said.
The Head of State said this at the handing- over ceremony of the video assisted thoracoscopic system (VATS) and rehabilitation equipments donated by Sarawak Heart Foundation ( SHF) to the Sarawak Heart Centre ( SHC) yesterday.
According to Taib, who is also the chairman of SHF, the foundation was established by ordinary citizens to encourage the public to voluntarily give aid to those in need.
He said it might not be a huge effort financially but nonetheless it was important in upgrading and intensifying the efforts of the government especially in terms of increasing public awareness on heart disease.
He also said everyone including SHF had a role to play in raising awareness or preventing the spread of the disease.
He said for SHF, their efforts in helping the government raise awareness of the disease had long been carried out by the late Datuk Amar Puan Sri Laila Taib.
He hoped the efforts would be continued to help the community.
Our efforts as a citizen in contributing or donating health facilities complement the effort of the government. It intensifies the efforts that have been started by the government as well as reinforcing the service to the people from the health aspect.
“I feel this effort will continue our commitment in avoiding or preventing heart-related diseases among the people.
“I am thankful to the donors who have come forward as it enables us in the SHF to donate the VATS as well as other rehabilitation equipment to the Heart Centre,” he said.
“So far, 50 patients have received the benefits of the VATS system and with this equipment, the risk during surgery will decrease. The patients will feel less pain and also has less side effects,” said Sarawak Heart Centre director Dr Mohd Asri Riffin.
Dr Mohd Asri described VATS as a good surgical technique used in diagnoses as well as treating heart-related problems as well as in other procedures such as lung cancer.
“We will always be committed in giving the best service to the community with the support of the state government and NGOs, especially SHF.
“This donation will upgrade the service to the community along with the support and work of the staff of the Heart Centre,” he added. During a surgical procedure, a tiny camera (thoracoscope) and surgical instrument are inserted into the patient’s chest through several incisions. Images are transmitted by the thoracoscope onto a video monitor guiding the surgeon in performing the procedure.
According to Dr Mohd Asri, about 16,000 in-patients, more than 110,000 outpatients and more than 30,000 patients from the emergency unit had received treatment since the Heart Centre opened in 2011.
Local Government Minister and member of the board of trustee of SHF Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian was also present at the event.
According to him, when SHF was launched in 1997, its mission started off by sending patients to Singapore, which subsequently changed to bringing visiting surgeons and Singapore expertise to Sarawak.
“Now, with own our own Heart Centre, the mission is to support it to become a world class institution,” he said.
Besides providing essential service to treat heart-related diseases, the Heart Centre also provides a platform for training and research.
The Heart Centre is the only centre under the Ministry of Health offering minimal access lung cancer or thymoma surgery.
According to a press release issued by SHF, it was anticipated that in future, patients from other parts of Malaysia might come to Kuching for surgery and that the Heart Centre would be a recognised as a training centre in Malaysia as well as in South East Asia for the demonstration of anatomy and surgical techniques on the monitors for future trainees.
Among other equipment donated to the Rehabilitation Department were electrocardiograph ( ECG) machine, multi-parameter patient monitor, vital signs monitor and multi-functional work station.
The TYT’s wife Toh Puan Datuk Patinggi Raghad Kurdi Taib, wife of the chief minister and member of the board of trustees of SHF Datin Patinggi Datuk Jamilah Anu and state Health Department director Dr Jamilah Hashim were also present at the function.
Tun Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, Yang di-Pertua Negeri