Health Service Planning, Melaka General Hospital (Malaysia)
Client Issue: Melaka is a government-funded public hospital situated on the SW coast of the Malay Peninsula, opposite Sumatra in the state of Melaka, south of Kuala Lumpur, the capital. Although Melaka was once one of the oldest Malay sultanates, the state has no Sultan today. Instead, the head of state is the Governor, who was our client. We were asked by the Malaysian Government to help redevelop the hospital (806 beds), as its catchment population was growing rapidly – it has now reached 759,000 (2007).
Solution: The Chief Minister's Dept is the administrative pillar of the State Government & is responsible for managing the State, as well as its political interest. We worked in partnership with health officials at national, state & local level to modernise the old hospital & prepare for the establishment of the Melaka Manipal Medical College which was finally opened in 1997. One of the opportunities was that the hospital (first opened in 1934) covered 17.4 acres so there was plenty of room for the development of new hospital buildings – the biggest challenges were lack of funding for technical equipment & an entrenched medical hierarchy. We therefore facilitated separate workshops & meetings for Nurses/Midwives & Drs…whilst the senior nurses from the 17 wards had many ideas to offer at the planning discussions & at the time these had to be filtered back from the Synergy Nurse Consultant to the Health Planners & Drs for action.
Outcome: The evaluation of the planning process was positive & the redevelopment of the hospital a success. This included the opening of the Melaka Midwifery School (Feb 1982) providing education to nurses from the Ministry of Health, Corporate & Defense Sectors. The Melaka Hospital School of Nursing was also modernised & provides basic training of nurses from all over Malaysia. A 3 year training program covers all aspects of nursing & upon completion, the nurses are posted to hospitals all over the country. The school is well-equipped with all training facilities & complemented by dedicated nursing tutors. Melaka now boasts an up to date medical infrastructure comparable to that of developed countries.