Irene Chang holding the complimentary health vouchers.
SIBU (Oct 29): Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak’s Political Education Bureau is organising a forum on caring for a patient, to be held at Methodist Pilley Institute here this Nov 4.
The bureau director Irene Chang said the forum would run from 2pm to 4pm.
She also said that the forum is in collaboration with Sarawak Midwives Association Sibu Branch to teach attendees the basic skills of caring for a patient, which include patient turning, NG tube feeding, bed bath and helping the patient to get on and off the wheelchair.
“The forum was actuated by the fact that we have received many complaints from family members of patients in Sibu Hospital that they were often asked by the nurses to take over some of their roles in caring for the patients while in the hospital.
“Most of these family members have expressed extreme stress and anxiety on this as they feel that they are not suitably equipped to discharge this role properly.
“While we do not agree with the patients’ family members taking over the role of these nurses while in the hospital, we understand that this might have been necessitated by the shortage of nurses in Sibu Hospital, an issue which the Ministry of Health (MoH) and Sarawak State Health Department have to look into promptly,” she said in a statement.
She hoped that with the equipping of this knowledge, family members of patients would also learn how to tend to and care for them after they have returned home.
This would ensure that the patients continue to receive proper care to enable them to recover more quickly.
“We encourage everyone to come and attend the forum, which will include a practical training session.
“The speaker and trainer for this forum will be a representative from the Sarawak Midwives Association Sibu Branch,” she said.
She also said that complimentary health vouchers would also be given out to the first 100 people who registered their attendance.
These vouchers include complimentary health screening voucher for electrocardiogram (ECG) worth RM75 and health screening voucher for a blood test worth RM148.
Both vouchers come with a free consultation by a medical officer from the sponsor, Rejang Medical Centre of Sibu.
There are also complimentary transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) vouchers worth RM600 each, sponsored by MeiMinds Specialist Clinic of Sibu.
TMS is a type of brain stimulation therapy and is a non-invasive treatment mainly used to treat depression and insomnia, both conditions which are now prevalent in our society.
These vouchers also come with a free specialist consultation.
For more information and for those who are interested in registering to attend the forum, contact Julie Wong at 016-8720733.