Call to upgrade teaching hospitals

Star: PETALING JAYA: More government funding is needed to put three teaching hospitals on par with those in the region.
Public university management director-general Datuk Prof Dr Hassan Said said the facilities and equipment at these hospitals needed to be upgraded to improve their performance and capabilities.
The hospitals are University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia in Kelantan.
“The Higher Education Ministry has done an audit and a report has been drawn up outlining the requirements of the three hospitals to enable them to undertake complicated cases as well as to improve their performance,” Prof Hassan said.
“The fact that the three hospitals are medical centres that provide important services to the community as well as being teaching hospitals is a crucial factor the ministry has taken into consideration,” he added.
Prof Hassan was representing Higher Education Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed at the 10th anniversary Cadaveric Kidney Transplant Programme celebration yesterday.
At the event, Universiti Malaya deputy vice-chancellor (academic and international) Datuk Prof Dr Mohd Amin Jalaluddin said the country’s transplantation programme must be more organised as kidney transplantation was one of three forms of treatment for sufferers of end-stage renal failure.
“Kidney transplants offer patients a better survival rate and better quality of life,” Prof Mohd Amin said.
UMMC consultant nephrologist Prof Dr Tan Si-Yen said the programme was targeted at improving the current rate of transplantation and services.
“There are 3,000 new cases of kidney failures annually, up from 2,500 new cases from several years ago.
“There are three forms of treatment – haemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis or transplant. The vast majority of patients opt for haemodialysis,” Prof Tan said.
Organ transplantation was a distant dream about 50 years ago.
It has since been transformed into a major branch of surgery and a form of treatment.