KUALA LUMPUR – The government must place greater emphasis and attention on the importance of medical support for dementia, including improving health education among the public.
Malaysian Public Health Physicians Association president Datuk Dr Zainal Ariffin Omar noted that the awareness level towards the medical condition remains extremely low, particularly on matters of caregiving by family members.
“There are patients who are neglected. It’s not really that simple (to care for dementia patients),” he told The Vibes’ Malay-language sister portal Getaran.
His comment comes hot on the heels of Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin’s revelation on Sunday that his father-in-law, former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, is suffering from the condition.
He had said that while his family is still able to afford the necessary professional medical support, the situation may not be the same for the majority of families in Malaysia with members similarly having dementia.
Khairy also spoke about the need to improve healthcare services for such patients and noted that the health white paper currently being drafted will include proposals on improving domiciliary care, or the care of patients in their own homes.
On the same note, Dr Zainal suggested that the government should also offer assistance services to family members in managing patients.
“The relevant parties must set up dementia care centres for the underprivileged. There are patients who are not able to get the best care because of financial restraints,” he said.
Separately, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s community health physician Prof Dr Sharifa Ezat Wan Puteh said there is a pressing need to train more internal medicine specialists and related areas.
This is particularly considering the lack of experts in the public healthcare system, with many opting to join the more lucrative private sector.
“A study in 2018 found that in Malaysia, there are 15,000 to 20,000 Parkinson’s disease patients and this will further increase, with more Malaysians set to be senior citizens by 2030. The Statistics Department projects the number of cases will increase five-fold by 2040.
“With Malaysia becoming an ageing nation, more people will be exposed to varying degrees of cognitive disorders, memory loss and body coordination issues.
“This will reduce the patient’s capacity to work and mobilise. Unfortunately, the number of experts in the geriatric and rehabilitation fields are too small, leading to difficulties for many people to receive early intervention and accurate diagnosis.” – The Vibes, September 14, 2022
