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Call For Better Cardiac Care
By Lyna Mohammad

Bandar Seri Begawan - Despite many prevention programmes that have been devised to bring down the number of heart ailments in the country, cardiovascular diseases have remained one of the top three leading causes of death in Brunei for the last 10 years.

As thirty per cent of deaths annually are caused by heart ailments, the Minister of Health, Pehin Dato Awg Hj Suyoi Hj Osman, yesterday called for the need to intensify efforts through public-private partnerships to bring more awareness on the silent killer to the public.

The minister launched the "Healthy Heart Month" yesterday at Gleneagles Jerudong Park Medical Centre (GJPMC) in Jerudong.

The Ministry of Health has taken a multi-pronged approach offering appro

priate intervention at all levels from prevention programmes to rehabilitation.

Prevention programmes, the minister said, consist of health education and promotion activities that aim to increase public awareness on cardiovascular risk factors, as well as to promote and encourage a healthy lifestyle.

Next comes screening programmes for the

early detection of cardiovascular diseases that allow early treatment and intervention followed by the provision of the most current mode of treatment and management of disease, medically or surgically.

The establishment of GJPMC's specialised cardiac services here has become more comprehensive and cardiac care has been strengthened in general, said the minister and added, "Bruneians are now able to have tertiary level cardiac medical care locally without having to go abroad."

The final measure is cardiac rehabilitation for patients who are on the road to recovery.

This involves a multidisciplinary team of professionals, now available in RIPAS Hospital, which is an important component in the whole package of cardiac care.

"However, despite all the above interventions, the latest statistics show that there has not been any significant decrease in the incidence of heart diseases," said the minister.

This means that there is a need to further intensify all the efforts and make them more effective at all levels and events such as the Healthy Heart Month and World Heart Day in order to boost regular programmes, Pehin Suyoi said.

There are many other types of collaborations that can be explored, not confining to ad-hoc activities or projects alone. "More regular and planned programmes as well as long term joint ventures through various forms of publicprivate partnerships should be contemplated including investments by private organisations in health programmes, services and infrastructure," the minister said adding that GJPMC's Cardiac Centre is one shining example.

Other examples of successful collaborations with the private sector in implementing health related projects include HIV/AIDS, publication of Healthy Brunei Sihat Newsletter, previous World Health Days and other commemorative health events.

Some of these projects have seen the participation of the Chambers of Commerce and private companies as well as donations of medical equipment, appliances and machines from banking institutions and companies, he added.

The ministry strongly believes that sharing the burden of health care with its stakeholders, particularly health care providers from the private sector, will bring about significant benefits to all concerned.

Not only is it cost saving for the government but also generates income for the private sector, creates a sense of ownership and responsibility in managing health issues amongst the stakeholders and brings about a more enhanced health outcome. Thus, this is an area, that the ministry is very keen to explore, said the minister. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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