KOTA KINABALU: Unlike more established specialization like cardiology, geriatric medicine is still considered very new in Malaysia and in Sabah.
So in order to create awareness and to educate the public about what geriatrics is all about, the Geriatric Unit of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) held an open day at the Karamunsing Complex here yesterday.
According to the unit’s head, Dr Richard Ng, the main purpose of the Geriatric Unit is to provide comprehensive care to all the elderly folk of Sabah.
Speaking to the media, Dr Richard pointed out that a lot of people, including healthcare professionals, do not know what geriatric is.
“Geriatric Medicine is a branch of medicine that specializes in the care of the elderly. As a geriatrician, I identify and treat various illnesses and geriatric issues that are prevalent in the elderly with the ultimate goal of optimizing the quality of life for the elderly in the hope that they will remain functional in society for as long as possible.
“And not forgetting health promotion and prevention is also an integral part of geriatric medicine,” Dr Richard, who is the first geriatrician in Sabah, said.
Dr Richard, who is one of the 19 geriatricians in Malaysia disclosed that the Geriatric Unit in QEH officially started in March 2012. Now, it has a dedicated team of healthcare professionals, including trained staff nurses, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, dietician, pharmacist and social workers. They all work as a team to provide a holistic care in meeting the very special needs of the elderly.
Currently in QEH, the unit has a subacute/stepdown ward where it can provide rehabilitation services and do a proper comprehensive assessment of their elderly patients, he said.
“Ideally, I would like to be able to assess all the elderly folks in Sabah because there are some issues such as confusion and depression that are overlooked by other health practitioners. But as we are very short-handed and bearing in mind that I am the only geriatrician in Sabah, we are now only assessing patients which have already been admitted to QEH,” Dr Richard said.
He added that the Geriatrics Unit also makes home visit to certain patients and it also has an outpatient service which consists a general geriatrics clinic, memory clinics and falls clinic which assesses if an elderly patient has a high risk of falling.
The falls clinic also treats the elderly who have injuries caused by them falling down, he said, adding that 65 is the age a person should go for a general geriatrics assessment if they do not lead an active and healthy lifestyle.
“It is my role as the first geriatrician in the state to actively expose the word ‘geriatrics’ and educate people on what it is all about. This year our Geriatric Unit organized a Caregiver Training Day to educate caregivers on the basics of caring for the elderly.
“In addition, we also successfully organized the first Sabah Geriatrics Conference in October to educate health care professionals on the various aspects of geriatrics. It is my hope that more heathcare professionals will be interested in pursuing geriatrics as a career,” he said.
Meanwhile, QEH director Dr Heric Corray said that the hospital has extended its geriatric service to the Kuala Penyu Hospital. Beaufort Hospital will have the service soon.
“We would like to expand to other districts in the east coast but are unable to do it yet because we only have one geriatrician based in QEH and the proximity to the hospitals in Kuala Penyu and Beaufort is nearer,” he said.
Dr Corray disclosed that QEH currently has another geriatrician under training in Singapore who is expected to be back in Sabah next year.
His sentiments about needing more geriatricians was echoed by QEH’s head of medical department, Datuk Dr Jayaram Menon, who opined that it is time for Malaysia to accept the fact that there is a need for more expertise in geriatrics medicine.
“We have made progress in Sabah… it has started slowly but surely,” Dr Jayaram stressed.