Reflective Journal For Visit to Hospital Orang Asli

Gombak
Today which is 16th June 2015, we were going to Hospital Orang Asli
Gombak to gain new information and knowledge about healthcare
facilities provided for aborigines in Malaysia. So we departed from Taylors
University Lakeside Campus at about 9 am and the journey to Gombak
took around 1 hour. We arrived there at 10 am and greeted by one of the
officer in charged. We were brought to the seminar room where we were
been given talk by Dr. Nurul, who is the Head of Department for Medical
Division there. She briefed us about the facilities and health programmes
held there for the Orang Asli. We were so surprised and impressed that
actually they held a lot of health education and promotion to improve
health awareness among the aborigines. Dr. Nurul told us that they are
routinely going to the villages and do health screening and if the villagers
or the aborigines need more medical attention then they will be brought
to the hospital and in addition all the family together with the relatives are
allowed to stay with them as the hospital provided rooms and facilities for
the patients families. This is because they have their own ways of living
and own customs so as to approach the aborigines, the hospital need to
respect their culture. The relatives or families that are staying there will
be having activities to improve their awareness and to enhance few living
skills such as preparing healthy diet and proper way of cleaning. While the
children there will be provided with educational activities to make the
stays there beneficial for them.
Hospital Orang Asli Gombak also provided 4 types of inpatient wards
which are multidisciplinary wards, obstetrics and gynaecology ward,
paediatrics ward and also infectious disease ward. We were acknowledged
that they are still having leprosy cases and we were able to meet few of
the patients. It was really rare to find leprosy cases in normal hospitals in
Malaysia. Dr Nurul also briefed us that the hospital only acquires around
96 beds for patients and around 40 beds for the families stays. During our
visit just now, we observed that the wards arent fully occupied and
almost none in obstetrics and gynaecology ward. We were told by the
nurses there that most of patients getting treatment there are in
outpatients department (OPD) for postnatal and antenatal care. The most
interesting part of the visit was during visiting multidisciplinary ward. We
were able to meet one patient who has been staying at the hospital when
he was 8 months old until now where he is around 30 years old. He was
once affected with polio virus and the infections had already subsided
years ago but the paralysis affect is still there and he has a little ability to
move due to polio infection. He was really cheerful and he touched our
heart with his spirit and smile despite of his disease. He was really happy

to meet us and have us around. It was so much fun where we were not
only gaining knowledge in our field but also we learn some humanity and
feeling more blessed of what we are having in our life. So much different
and much better from him.
We finished with tour at the infectious disease ward. We were able
to meet few tuberculosis and leprosy patients. The medical officer there
told us that the management for Tuberculosis patients are different with
other normal hospitals in Malaysia because the patients are able to stay
for 6 months or even a year to complete their drug regimes. This is
because the doctors want to make sure that they are taking their
medications properly and totally healed from tuberculosis. Finally what I
can conclude is for me the idea of having separate medical facilities for
aborigines in Malaysia is totally important cause we cant deal them as
same with other people. They are restricted with few customs and beliefs
where they are not easily accepting medical approach. This medical
facilities for them are important to make them approachable for medical
treatments thus improve their health state among the aborigines in
Malaysia.

Sajaratul Syifaa Binti Ibrahim

0313887
Batch 6