KUCHING, Dec 15: The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) has taken the lead in defining and setting standards of competence for organisations and individuals involved in the delivery of healthcare in challenging environments including in Sarawak and Sabah.
RCSEd council member Professor Angus Watson emphasised that the College, through its Faculty of Remote, Rural and Humanitarian Healthcare (FRRHH), is committed to improve the health outcomes of individuals living and working in remote, rural, austere and life challenging areas of the world.
“Therefore, remote and rural humanitarian healthcare needs to be defined and reviewed, with standards of competence established for organisations as well as medical and non-medical personnel delivering healthcare in these demanding settings.
“Provision of healthcare and surgery in remote and rural communities, as well as training of surgeons to the highest quality has always been what we focus on. The need to have practitioners with diverse skills and have them trained in other surgical disciplines such as orthopaedics, general surgery, obstetrics and, gynaecology is crucial. These are the subject matters that will be covered in the conference,” he said in a media release today.
With Ministry of Health (MOH) Malaysia as its long standing collaborators, Prof Watson said they are looking forward to comparing notes around humanitarian healthcare delivery with the Malaysian community, especially with the Mercy Foundation for response to disasters such as conflict, and environmental calamities.
He raised this when presenting his paper at the three-day Tripartite Conference on Healthcare Challenges in the 21st Century taking place at Borneo Convention Center Kuching (BCCK) beginning Dec 14.
The Conference was jointly organised by RCSEd, The Academy for Silent Mentor (AFSM), the College of Surgeons Academy of Medicine of Malaysia (CSAMM), and the Ministry of Health of Malaysia (MOH).
As one of the oldest surgical colleges in the world with over 40 per cent of its members overseas, RCSEd has also pledged to work closely with MOH Malaysia and AFSM to discuss innovative and dynamic practices for healthcare professionals.
The director-general of Health Malaysia Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah also delivered on the importance and need for affordable access to timely, safe and high-quality surgery and anaesthesia services in all parts of the country including the more remote and rural communities.
Officiated by Deputy Premier Prof Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian, the Conference saw more than 400 registered participants including former RCSEd vice resident Pala Rajesh and FRRHH executive committee deputy chair Andrew Kent.
One of the main highlights of the Conference is the focus on the impact of the pandemic to the challenges of practicing medicine in remote and rural environments.
Another significant event at the conference will be the launch of Aortic Dissection Awareness Malaysia at the Aortic Dissection Symposium organised by RCSEd, CSAMM and the Malaysian Association for Thoracicand Cardiovascular Surgery (MATCVS).
The Conference will be the midpoint for experts to discuss ways to improve the outcomes for individuals living and working in remote and rural areas to have access to reasonable primary healthcare.
It is hoped that through innovative and dynamic practices, RCSEd would be able to promote and develop a diverse global community of healthcare professionals operating across public, private and third sectors within a number of diverse industries. — DayakDaily
