By Alvertekoster Anyap, Noor Syahhira Hady & Sarah Hafizah Chandra

KUCHING: Throughout the years, the Sarawak Heart Centre (SHC) has expanded its services to provide specialised high quality cardiovascular care for Sarawakians.

Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian, one of the founders for the Department of Cardiology of Sarawak General Hospital (SGH), recently said that the centre has the potential to become one of the best in the world in ten years’ time.

He also said that the development of the Sarawak Cancer Centre and Sarawak Infectious Disease Centre within proximity, along with the support from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) and Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) would further enhance SHC’s potential.

New Sarawak Tribune got to speak to the public’s to get their comments on this matter.

Dr Khatijah Yaman,Senior lecturer at Department of Paraclinical Sciences, Unimas

I believe that SHC will be able to achieve its potential because we have the experts, equipment and resources. Besides that, strong support from the government will definitely facilitate the feasibility of the centre’s potential of becoming a world leader in clinical and research excellence which in the long run will benefit the local people. It also cuts down the waiting list for local patients because the facility is available in Sarawak.

Amy Rozila Saili, Entrepreneur

It is possible for SHC to achieve its potential in the next 10 years because I believe that we have the capability to do so, especially in terms of having professional cardiac surgeons as well as upgraded medical equipment and supplies. This would benefit the local people particularly in reducing expenses to travel outside of Sarawak to get the medical care needed.

Sumastika Mos, Clinical instructor

Clinical and medical advancements are needed to uplift Sarawak’s healthcare services. Thus, I believe the 10-year timeframe is sufficient for them. Though, SHC might be able to reach the top with good funding and wide research programmes to be world leaders in clinical and research excellence.

Priscamy Siaman Tylors, Medical graduate

I think SHC has great potential. I had the honour of doing my clinical posting there as a medical student and saw first-hand the great teams they have there. Plus, they’re already headed towards the right direction, so they must maintain the current standard in practice.

Edelweiss Lemy, Engineer

The 10-year timeframe is too short because we still have a lot to do, but the idea of expanding the heart centre is good and the vision of making it the world’s best can be achieved with enough funding and planning.

Professor Dr Asri Said, Dean of Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Unimas

With a global outlook and aspirations, the heart centre is definitely set to be the best in the region. This is because the centre not only provides excellent patient care, but it also provides training which nurtures young doctors to become world-class specialists.