India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world.
According to the World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects report, India is eighth on the list of fastest-growing economies in the world.
Mirroring the pace of the economy, medical organisations in India have a reputation for building their facilities quickly, some in less than a year.
Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman council’s working visit to India has inspired them to build the Sultan Azlan Shah Hospital near the Kampar campus in less than nine months.
At the press conference held at the Grand Kampar Hotel, Utar council chairman Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik said the Usha Mullapudi Cardiac Centre in Hyderabad constructed their hospital in nine months.
“During our trip there, we learnt from them. Dr Ratnam Mullapudi, the chairman of the hospital, has been key in making the hospital efficient and affordable for the people.
“We are planning to follow Usha Mullapudi’s framework and we will try to complete some parts of the hospital in less than nine months,” he said.
Dr Ling recently visited two well-known hospitals in India to learn more about their models and practices – the Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Hospital (SSSSH) in Nayar Raipur, Chhattisgarh and the Usha Mullapudi Cardiac Centre.
The visit together with Utar R&D and commercialisation vice-president Prof Dr Lee Sze Wei, Dean of Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) Emeritus Prof Dr Cheong Soon Keng, FMHS Deputy Dean of Academic Development and Undergraduate Programmes Emeritus Prof Dr Boo Nem Yun, Datuk Dr Neoh Soon Bin and Datin Mah Swee Bee aimed to look at good approaches and practices to adopt for Utar’s hospital which is also a not-for-profit hospital.
He said the visit was “very fruitful” as they signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with SSSSH to have exchange visits for cardiology specialists, surgeons and students once Hospital Sultan Azlan Shah was completed.
“SSSSH was kind enough to promise us assistance in making the new hospital the regional paediatric centre in the Asean region,” he added.
The visits also explored opportunities for collaborations such as educational visits, training, placements and staff and student exchanges.
Dr Ling hopes that part of the hospital will be operational by year end.
On Feb 1, he said the planned hospital in Kampar, Perak, will focus on paediatric cardiology, as he saw the need for this speciality in the country.
The former MCA president added that the new hospital would double as a teaching hospital.
“I hope that Hospital Sultan Azlan Shah will be able to give good training to medical graduates and serve the Asean community.
“We also want parents to have hands-on experience during the training. It is not only for students, doctors and nurses but for mothers and fathers too,” he said.
The specialist training hospital will offer treatment using traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) as well as Western or conventional medicine.