KPJ Healthcare Berhad

Wong: Medical services in country top class

SIBU: Malaysia has top notch medical services because the government cares about the wellbeing of its people, said Minister of Local Government and Community Development Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh yesterd

SIBU: Malaysia has top notch medical services because the government cares about the wellbeing of its people, said Minister of Local Government and Community Development Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh yesterday.

Launching 'CT Scanner 64 Slice’ at KPJ Sibu Specialist Medical Centre here, Wong said this year alone the government had spent about RM1.6 billion in recurrent expenditure in the provision of medical services.

However, he lamented that these top class medical services could not reach certain isolated areas of the country due to the difficult terrain.

"In less accessible areas we have to use the service of flying doctors." Wong stressed that the contributions of the private sectors were also very much needed to complement and supplement the government’s efforts in the provision of medical services.

On KPJ Sibu Specialist Medical Centre’s latest initiative, Wong said the RM2 million equipment was a powerful tool that could be used to scan for brain tumors, joints, and whole body. It could be used to help trace the causes ofa myriad of illnesses.

He hoped that the availability of these modern equipments could spur health tourism in Sibu, especially patients from Kalimantan Indonesia.

On medical expenses, Wong said a wise thing which members of the public could do was to take up medical insurance when young to protect themselves against possible health issues in the future.

The new 64-Slice CT scanner, which was installed last month, has a relatively fast scan time;it allows scanning of moving objects, especially the heart; its fast scanning time also makes it easier to examine difficult patients; better detection capabilities; better image quality; greater automation options; and low-radiation dosage.

It can also perform complex studies, including scanning of the beating heart, multiphase scan of the liver, kidneys, pancreas, and scanning of the arteries and veins (CT angiography and CT venography).

Among those present were KPJ Healthcare Berhad senior group general manager Abdol Wahab Baba, medical director of KPJ Sibu Specialist Medical centre Dr Wong Chya Wei, senior manager Mohamad Hafiz Zaini, director Dr Sengkathir Subramaniam, and director of KPJ Love Care centre Dr Henry Toh Yew King.

-Borneo Post Sarawak