KUALA LUMPUR: Cardiothoracic surgery remains a key component and focus of care among cardiovascular disease patients at the Ministry of Health, said Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.
He said training more cardiothoracic surgeons is a top priority to achieve the ministry’s objective of bringing cardiothoracic surgery care closer to the people, especially as non-communicable diseases (NCD) continue to rise in the country.
In addition, Dzulkefly said the establishment of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh’s (RCSEd) first international office in Malaysia, at the new campus of the Academy of Medicines of Malaysia in Putrajaya, will be a stepping stone for a more comprehensive partnership at ASEAN level.
“The Parallel Pathway cardiothoracic surgical training programme in MOH, quality assured by RCSEd remains the backbone of the training currently. At the same time, the ministry is strengthening all cardiothoracic training programmes, including our local university master’s programmes in the mix,” he said.
He said this when launching the 32nd Annual Congress of the Association of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeons of Asia (ATCSA) in conjunction with the 24th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Malaysian Association for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeons (MATCVS) here today.
Dzulkefly noted that the three main categories of NCD – cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer have cost the Malaysian economy an estimated RM12.88 billion in productivity losses.
“Based on the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2023, 33.3 per cent or one in three adults in Malaysia have high cholesterol, 29.2 per cent or one in three adults have high blood pressure and 15.6 per cent or one in six adults have diabetes, while 54.4 per cent or one in two adults are overweight or obese.
“In 2022, a staggering 95,266 deaths were recorded among adults aged between 30 and 69, below the national average life expectancy of approximately 75 (premature deaths). Almost a quarter of these were caused by NCDs,” he said.
Dzulkefly also outlined the ministry’s plans to enhance its seven regional cardiothoracic centres in the country.
“On top of that, we have already confirmed plans for the opening of a paediatric cardiothoracic surgical centre at Seberang Jaya Hospital, the construction of a new surgical block with upgraded cardiothoracic services at Penang Hospital and a new cardiothoracic centre at Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital, Ipoh,” he said.
