KPJ Healthcare Berhad

Patient-care standard to improve as medical service providers tap new technologies

KUCHING: Effqrts by medical service providers to introduce new technologies to the healthcare sector in the state will help raise the standard of patient care.

Assistant Minister of Public Health Datuk Dr Jerip Susil said many medical service providers were bringing in new clinical technology info the state, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

"The larger number of providers is very much in line with the Ministry of health's own targets, which is to /extend its reach in delivering High quality primary care to the people.

"This effort to introduce new technology is key in positioning Malaysia primarily Sarawak as the preferred provider of care in the regional for patients, be it from local or foreign communities," he said at the launch of Kuching Specialist Hospital's (KcSH) new Siemens Magnetom Avanto 1.5 Tesla MRI at the hospital here yesterday

The equipment costs RM3.6 million. In addition, Dr Jerip also noted that the resulting increase in capacity and infrastructure would also be a boon for other related industries, such as tourism and healthcare education.

On the new MRI equipment, Dr Jerip said it would enable KcSH to capture images inside the human body with a level of detail, clarity, and speed that wasn't possible before.

"It is an essential tool of modern medical imaging and disease diagnosis. In many cases, MRI provides important diagnostic information that cannot be obtained with other imaging techniques."

KcSH chairman Abdul Wahab Baba said the new MRI equipment affirmed the hospital's commitment to provide quality services and compassionate care for the community that had given KcSH endless support, par ticularly from Kuching and surrounding areas.

"Our new 1.5 Tesla MRI is the gold standard for an MRI in a clinical setting as it is faster than lower strength MRIs. It is ideal fora abdomens and chest MRIs. It is also easy to customise and provide uniquely tailored, optimised scans that are configurable to a patient's condition."

In line with an increase in healthcare demand and the fast growing pace of Sarawak's economy, Abdul Wahab also pointed out that KPJ Healthcare Berhad, of which KcSH was established under its flagship, was committed to forge ahead with its expansion programme by constructing two new hospitals in Sarawak, namely the new KPJ Kuching Specialist Hospital here and KPJ Miri Specialist Hospital in Miri.

"For the new KPJ Kuching Specialist Hospital, KPJ has successfully organised the ground breaking ceremony recently, which was graced by the Yang diPertua Negeri Sarawak Tun Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud."

He added that the new hospital, estimated to cost more than RM100 million, was expected to be ready in 2017. It would have 250 beds. "The new specialist hospital in Miri will have its ground breaking ceremony in the third quarter of this year."

Also present at the ceremony was KcSH medical director Dr David Sylvester Ling Sheng Tee.