Sunday November 1, 2009
How it all started
TANJUNG Rambutan was first identified as a suitable location for a federal lunatic asylum by Dr W.F. Samuels in 1910. He became the first medical director upon completion of the hospital in 1911.
The entire hospital then consisted of three male wards and one female ward, separated by the hospital kitchen.
The hospital was renamed the Central Mental Hospital in 1928 after the medical and nursing facilities were upgraded. The name was changed to Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta in the 1970s because of the negative connotations associated with “mental hospital”.
Due to the scarcity of mental healthcare services in those days, a community psychiatry unit was established. Hospital Bahagia staff conducted psychiatry clinics at public places such as churches, community halls and temples.
There might not be much physical difference between the old days and now but there is a huge change in attitude in the treatment of mental patients. -Photo by CHAN LI JIN This led to the establishment of peripheral psychiatric clinics that operated regular office hours for patients whose homes were more than 30km from Hospital Bahagia. The easy availability of these services meant patients could stay in their own homes amidst familiar surroundings while receiving follow-up treatment.
Follow-up services for stable psychiatric patients in primary healthcare centres in Perak began in 1997 in an effort to decentralise mental healthcare services.
Home-care services were introduced in 2001 as part of the hospital’s objectives to integrate psychiatric treatment into family life and mainstream society.
Hospital staff visited homes to provide treatment and rehabilitation and teach caregivers and family members management skills while improving communication and problem-solving skills.
-Photo by CHAN LI JIN The home-care services turned out to be hugely successful, bringing down patient re-admission rates from 25% before services commenced to 0.45% in 2008.
These services have since been recognised as a Best Practice model in the 2008 Asia Pacific Community Mental Health Development Project.
Today, the 2,600-bed Hospital Bahagia has a specialist consultancy that provides outpatient treatment for an average of 670 patients monthly. Patients seeking outpatient treatments numbered 8,469 in 2008, compared to 8,713 the previous year.
Apart from that, the hospital also conducts clinical research and “quit smoking” clinics. It also provides outpatient services such as counselling, psychological testing, dental services, health education programmes, X-rays and social welfare services.
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