KOTA KINABALU: The Society for the Sabah Heart Fund (SOSHF) hopes to send 35 hole-in-the-heart patients to undergo corrective heart surgery this year.
Its honorary secretary, Eva Susau said after receiving the grant of RM300,000 from the State Government yesterday that they aim to despatch 15 patients to Kuala Lumpur while the remaining will be going to South Korea with the assistance of South Korean-based non-government organisations.
Aside from that, Eva expressed that she hoped the Penang Adventist Hospital will also come forward to help them in the cause.
In the past, the hospital has helped by subsidizing the cost of treatment for SOSHF patients undergoing corrective heart surgery there, she said.
Meanwhile, two three-year-old toddlers suffering from the disease from Sandakan and Labuan, respectively, will be going to the Severance Hospital in Seoul, South Korea, possibly next month.
The endeavor has been made possible through collaboration with the KK Lions Host and a Korean NGO, said Eva.
She also urged members of the public and corporate bodies to come forward and help the association with its cause.
“We are helping patients who are poor and mainly reside in the State’s rural areas. What we are trying to do is improve their quality of life by helping them undergo the much needed corrective heart surgery,” she explained.
The cost of corrective heart surgery in the country is between RM35,000 and RM40,000 depending on the complexity of each case, she said.
Some of the youngest patients sponsored to undergo the surgery by SOSHF were below a year old. More information can be garnered from the SOSHF website (www.sabahheartfund.org.my)
During the event, Eva also said that the SOSHF needed to have its own half-way home for the children seeking treatment at the Likas Hospital along with their accompanying parent.
“Many of our patients are rural folks, and while the hospital has its own hostel facility, there is simply not enough space. Sometimes, while waiting for their appointment, the children and their parents have to sleep on seats along the alleyways of the hospital or at the canteen,” she said.
She described the situation as sad and asked for understanding from the relevant authorities to consider the matter and provide SOSHF with land near the Likas Hospital so that it can begin construction work on the building.
She added that there was already a pledge to provide RM1 million to SOSHF for the construction of the half-way home from a well-known businessman.
“What we don’t have is the land. It has to be near the hospital because we want to facilitate and ease the burden of the families and the patients,” she said.
To achieve this purpose, SOSHF hopes to secure a meeting with the Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Musa Haji Aman as well as with the Land and Surveys Department director, Datuk Osman Jamal sometime soon.
“We would like to materialise the plan by this year as it has been some three years ago since the pledge was made,” said Eva.
And if there was no land to be allocated by the relevant authorities near the hospital, Eva said that she hoped the businessman who pledged the amount would purchase a house near the area for them.
Presenting the grant to Eva yesterday was Community Development and Consumer Affairs Minister, Datuk Jainab Ahmad Ayid.