KUALA LUMPUR – The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic to the challenge of practising medicine in remote and rural environments was among the main issues deliberated upon during the recent ‘Tripartite Conference on Healthcare Challenges in the 21st Century’.
Held from December 14 to 16 at the Borneo Convention Centre in Kuching, it served as the midpoint for experts to discuss ways to improve outcomes for individuals living and working in remote and rural areas to have access to reasonable primary healthcare.
The event was organised by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) together with the Academy for Silent Mentor (AFSM), the College of Surgeons Academy of Medicine of Malaysia (CSAMM), and the Ministry of Health (MOH).
RCSEd also put together a symposium on Remote, Rural and Humanitarian Care, and Trauma Care, as part of the conference.
RCSEd, through its Faculty of Remote, Rural and Humanitarian Healthcare (FRRHH), has striven to define and set standards of competence for organisations and individuals involved in the delivery of healthcare in challenging environments.
Deputy chair of FRRHH’s executive committee Andrew Kent, as well as council member Professor Angus Watson presented their papers at the said symposium.
Watson said that 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,” he said.
He stressed on the crucial need to have practitioners with diverse skills and have them trained in other surgical disciplines such as orthopaedics, general surgery, obstetrics, and gynaecology. These subject matters were thus covered in the conference.
“We are also 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 said.
Meanwhile, MoH officials shared their experience in dealing with the pandemic, including the effectiveness of measures adopted locally and internationally to contain the Covid-19 outbreak, as well as the lessons learnt and what the future holds.
Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah graced the event and delivered a speech on the 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.
The conference was officiated by Sarawak Deputy Premier Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian.
Another significant event at the conference was the launch of Aortic Dissection Awareness Malaysia at the Aortic Dissection Symposium organised by RCSEd, CSAMM and the Malaysian Association for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery (MATCVS). – The Vibes, December 20, 2022
