Sabah recognised as hub for respiratory diseases
Published on: Friday, September 30, 2016
Kota Kinabalu: Sabah has been recognised as one of the hubs in treating respiratory diseases.Health Director-General Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said significant advancement has been made in the field of respiratory illness treatment, thanks to the high number of cases recorded in the State. He noted Sabah recorded one of the highest number of interventions in terms of respiratory illnesses to date.
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Dr Noor Hisham said these advancements that include treatment, medical technology and training were made due to interest of physicians here to treat such diseases. "The many cases had provided the opportunity for doctors to learn and treat the numerous types of illnesses like asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, tuberculosis and others. "They have gone from merely tuberculosis doctors to respiratory physicians. This is a form of advancement in the country's medical development," he said. Dr Noor Hisham said this at a press conference after launching the second Malaysian Association for Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology (Mabip) 2016 at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, here, Thursday.
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He said the Health Ministry is also supportive and has provided equipment and training to doctors, which eventually lead to the delivery of better healthcare. Towards this end, Dr Noor Hisham said the ministry aims to have at least one respiratory specialist in every State by 2020 or at least one specialist stationed in all the 148 hospitals in the country including district hospitals.
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At present one specialist is working at the Tawau Hospital to ease the workload in the East Coast of Sabah. Towards this end, he said more specialists are needed but pointed out that 27 specialists and 16 trainee specialists in the country at present are sufficient. He also hoped one day Sabah would be able to match Serdang Hospital in Selangor which is able to handle more sophisticated cases like bronchial thermoplasty, bronchoscopic lung volume reduction and electromagnetic navigational bronchoscopy. Also present at the launching were Sabah Health Director Dr Christina Rundi and Mabip Chairman Dr Jamalul Azizi Abdul Rahman.On another note, Dr Noor Hisham said the ministry plans to engage non-governmental organisations to deal with the high number of mental illness in the country. Based on the 2015 National Health and Morbidity Survey, one out of three Malaysians above 16 suffer from some form of mental illness. He said the illness involves a wide spectrum that includes depression and suicidal tendencies which were common among the younger generation. He singled out synthetic drug abuse was among the reasons that is affecting young Malaysians. "We have various programmes and 671 facilities and 360 registered psychiatrists in the country to help those with mental illness. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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