Queen Visits Hospis Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, June 5 (Bernama) -- Her Majesty Raja Zarith Sofiah, Queen of Malaysia,  today visited  Hospis Malaysia, a charitable organisation that provides palliative care to patients suffering from chronic illnesses, such as cancer and kidney problems.

The visit was a specially arranged event in conjunction with the official birthday of  His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia.

 During the visit, Raja Zarith Sofiah spent more than two hours meeting patients receiving treatment at the centre, in addition to donating RM30,000 to Hospis Malaysia.

Also present were Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s wife, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who is Bandar Tun Razak Member of Parliament, Deputy Minister of Health Datuk Lukanisman Awang Sauni, Health Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Suriani Ahmad and Hospis Malaysia chief executive officer Ednin Hamzah.

Meanwhile, in her speech, Raja Zarith Sofiah said that she decided to visit Hospis Malaysia because she felt that there were still many Malaysians not aware of the importance of palliative care for family members.

“Hospis Malaysia can help provide palliative care, which is supportive care for patients with chronic illnesses.

“The responsibility of doctors and nurses at Hospis Malaysia is to provide advice and support to patients and their families, such as visiting and treating patients at home and to ease the patient’s pain with effective medications,” said Her Majesty.

Raja Zarith Sofiah said she became aware of palliative care since the late 1990s when the Johor Bahru Rotary Club often organised visits to homes of chronic patients, prompting Her Majesty to also become a volunteer and visit the patients at their homes.

"Whenever there are seminars on palliative care, I will attend those seminars, and that was when I met Dr Ednin and palliative specialists from other countries," said Her Majesty.

Earlier, Lukanisman, in his speech, said palliative medicine is a very important field of expertise in ensuring that patients with serious illnesses receive comprehensive and empathetic treatment.

He said the Ministry of Health (MOH) had recognised its importance by establishing a palliative medicine sub-speciality in 2003, and as of last May, 17 hospitals under the ministry were offering the service with the involvement of specialists, including in paediatric palliative treatment

-- BERNAMA