By Ashley Sim
KUCHING, March 19: Sarawak and Sabah are projected to have 100 per cent access to safe surgical and anaesthesia care by 2030.
Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa disclosed that the Ministry of Health (MOH) has planned for continuous regular training of medical officers and placement of more surgical and anaesthesia specialists in hospitals identified in the two regions.
“The recent placement of surgeons and anaesthesiologists in difficult-to-access hospitals, such as Kapit and Limbang, has improved access to surgical and anaesthesia care for people in these divisions.
“With the future MOH’s planning of continuous regular training of medical officers and placement of more surgical and anaesthesia specialists in identified hospitals in Sabah and Sarawak, it is visioned that by 2030, the two regions will reach 100 per cent access to safe surgical and anaesthesia care as currently aimed,” Dr Zaliha said before officiating at ‘1st Global Surgery Conference: The New Dawn’, which was held at a hotel in Kuching today.
Earlier, she stated that the Global Surgery Initiative, rather than rewriting history, aims to ensure the sustainability of service delivery by utilising the existing workforce in district hospitals.
“In the Global Surgery Initiative, healthcare personnel, especially medical officers, will be upskilled to provide specific surgical, obstetrics, and anaesthesia services in non-specialist hospitals, enabling the provision of surgical services closer to home without the patient having to travel a long distance to seek surgical care.
“Highly skilled and competent medical officers and specialists will facilitate the provision of safe and quality care to the population.
“In hospitals without specialists, trained medical officers can provide essential and emergency care to the population,” she explained.
Later, Dr Zaliha disclosed at a press conference that access to safe surgical and anaesthesia care is currently at 75 per cent in Sarawak and Sabah.
“I was just informed that it was about 75 per cent, and we hope to expand even more by 2030, with the goal of reaching 200 per cent in a few years,” she added.
Minister for Public Health, Housing, and Local Government Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian, who is also the Deputy Premier of Sarawak, and Health Ministry director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah were among those present at the event. — DayakDaily
