KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry plans to enhance regional cardiothoracic centres by upgrading facilities at public hospitals, says Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.
The plans include a new paediatric cardiothoracic surgical centre at Hospital Seberang Jaya in Penang, as well as a new cardiothoracic centre at Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun in Ipoh.
He added that a new surgical block with upgraded cardiothoracic services would also be constructed at Hospital Pulau Pinang (HPP).
Dzukjefly said this during his officiation speech at the 32nd Association of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeons of Asia (ATCSA) Conference on Friday (Nov 22).
He said that the ministry oversees seven regional cardiothoracic centres in Malaysia: Hospital Pulau Pinang, George Town; Hospital Raja Perempuan Zainab II, Kota Bharu; Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan, Kuantan; Hospital Idris Shah Serdang, Selangor; Hospital Sultanah Aminah, Johor Baru; Pusat Jantung Sarawak, Kuching and Hospital Queen Elizabeth II, Kota Kinabalu.
"With the National Heart Institute Kuala Lumpur (IJN KL) being a mature cardiac centre, the Ministry aims to replicate its success and strengthen all seven regional MOH cardiothoracic centres in Malaysia," he said.
He added that the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) have set up their first international office at the Academy of Medicines of Malaysia's new campus in Putrajaya.
He said that the ministry's parallel pathway cardiothoracic surgical training programme, with quality assured by the RCSEd, remains the backbone of cardiothoracic surgeons' training.
"At the same time, the ministry is strengthening all cardiothoracic training programmes, including our local university master’s programmes in the mix.
He said cardiothoracic surgery remains a key component and focus of care among cardiovascular disease patients at MOH.
"Training more cardiothoracic surgeons remains a top priority to achieve the ministry’s objective of bringing cardiothoracic surgery care closer to the people," he said.
He also mentioned that the Medical (Amendment) Act 2024, which was passed in six months, was the only sure way to address the acute shortage of cardiothoracic surgeons in Malaysia.
Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), which include cardiovascular and chronic respiratory diseases as well as diabetes, cause 72% of all premature deaths, he said.
"The 3 main NCD categories alone – cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer are estimated to have cost the Malaysian economy RM12.88bil in terms of productivity losses," he said.
In June, Dzulkefly said that only 17 cardiothoracic specialists serve under the Health Ministry.
He said that 23 doctors are receiving training in the specialisation, 16 through parallel pathway training, and seven are taking up UiTM’s medical master’s programme.
