Malaysia in dire need of more cardiologists
GEORGE TOWN – The country is short of 300 cardiologists, said Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya.
Dr Hilmi said Malaysia needed 500 cardiologists. However, there were only 200 cardiologists nationwide. “Of the 200, only 30 serve at government hospitals, while the rest are at private hospitals.
“We are short of 300 cardiologists to help with the growing number of cardiovascular diseases,” he said after officiating the World Heart Day celebration at Penang Hospital here yesterday.
He said cardiovascular diseases was the No. 1 killer in the country.
“The number of patients with heart-related diseases is on the rise. Last year, there were some 14,000 cardiovascular outpatients in the state.”
He said it was a misconception to think that the disease was prevalent only among men.
“Today, one out of three women die of heart-related diseases. The ratio of men and women suffering cardiovascular disease is equal.”
Dr Hilmi, however, said the government’s initiative of giving scholarships to doctors training in the cardiovascular field had shown an encouraging trend.
“There is a rise in the number of scholarship recipients each year. This has been encouraging. There were 1,000 recipients last year as opposed to 800 in 2011.
“This will bring about a steady rise in the number of cardiologists, to meet our needs.”
The government’s effort to boost cardiovascular treatment and make it widely available does not end there, he said.
He said the government was also working on upgrading the 20-year-old lab at Penang Hospital.
“At the moment there are two labs in the hospital, of which one lab is outdated and in disrepair.
“We will begin the upgrading work next year, with a RM10 million (S$3.8 million) allocation from the government.”
Source: New Straits Times
