Ministry to focus on training more medical specialists

theSundaily KUALA LUMPUR (July 26, 2012): The Health Ministry will now focus on training more specialists to cater to the growing demand for specialised medical needs among the people.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the ministry aims to place specialist doctors at all government district hospitals by 2020.

"In the past, we were short of doctors but we've trained enough doctors and have sufficient doctors in all government hospitals. So now we want to focus on training more specialists," he told reporters after opening the ANOC Neuroscience and Orthopedic Centre in Bangsar here, today.

He said currently only 55 of 135 government hospitals nationwide had specialists care. Liow noted that the ministry trained about 800 specialists a year and currently there are about 5,000 specialists in all medical fields in the country.

"Our target is to ensure that our district hospitals have enough specialists to serve the people at each district. We also encourage more doctors to take up specialist courses," he said.

Earlier, in his speech, Liow expressed confidence that facilities at the ANOC Neuroscience and Orthopedic Centre, the first of its kind in the country, would appeal to local as well as overseas patients seeking medical treatment in Malaysia.

The one-stop tertiary out-patient referral centre focuses mainly on the clinical areas of neurology, neuro-surgery, orthopedics, rheumatology and radiology.

The centre has the technology and personnel capable to detect and treat conditions such as stroke, brain and spinal cord tumours, spondylosis and prolapsed disc, at an early stage. – Bernama