| Lyna Mohamad |
THE Maxillofacial, Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Centre (MFPRSC) has the potential to contribute to the nation’s economic growth as the centre was constructed with health tourism in mind, noted Minister of Finance II, Dato Seri Paduka Dr Haji Mohd Amin Liew bin Abdullah in his capacity as Chairman of Pantai Jerudong Specialist Centre (PJSC).
The minister, speaking to the Bulletin on the sidelines of the centre’s opening ceremony yesterday which he officiated, added that with the centre’s top facilities and state-of-the-art labs and equipment – which are not seen in similar treatment centres in other Asean member countries – along with its qualified doctors, the MFPRSC can potentially market its services to foreign patients looking for reconstructive surgery treatment.
He expressed his pride in officially having MFPRSC and its world class facilities under the umbrella of the PJSC and joining the PJSC’s other patient services such as The Brunei Cancer Centre (TBCC) and the Brunei Neuroscience Stroke and Rehabilitation Centre in Jerudong.
“We are looking forward to providing better services, better care for our patients like what we always do here at Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha (RIPAS) Hospital … I think we are able to work well with RIPAS Hospital in terms of transferring patients at RIPAS Hospital in urgent need of treatment to MFPRSC. The patient can be immediately dealt with and can come over any time (to MFPRSC) and even on-call services can be provided, even outside normal working hours,” the minister said.
He added that the opening of the MFPRSC is a big step forward in achieving Brunei Darussalam’s vision of realising a high quality of life, recognising the accomplishments of its highly skilled people, and bringing about a sustainable and diversified economy.
He added that one of the core goals of MFPRSC is to be entirely patient-oriented to ensure efficient delivery of care and services to its patients, as only by doing so can the centre achieve excellence and maintain the drive to be innovative.
“By being patient-oriented, I believe we will not only raise the quality of life in Brunei Darussalam, but also help diversify the services available in the country and create new job opportunities while enhancing the skills of our people well,” the minister said.
He said the centre will continue to provide valuable services to Brunei’s citizens and residents as well as patients from neighbouring countries for medical conditions such as birth deformities of the face and neck, cancer of the mouth and face, tumours of the jaws and orbits, and facial reconstructions following accidents or face deformities left by tumours and cancers.
“As Chairman of PJSC I am proud to say that this centre has the state-of-the-art technology required to treat complex tumours of the mouth and jawbones, and reconstruct them after the tumours have been removed,” said Dato Seri Paduka Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew.
Also present at the opening of the MFPRSC at its premises in the vicinity of RIPAS Hospital yesterday was the Deputy Chairman of PJSC and Minister of Health Dato Paduka Dr Haji Mohd Isham bin Jaafar.
The opening ceremony began with the recitation of Doa by a religious officer at PJSC, Ustaz Haji Ishkandar bin Haji Buntar. Following this was welcoming remarks delivered by the Head of MFPRSC, Dr Mazrul Adimin bin Haji Awang Besar.
“The MFPRSC aims to and will continuously strive towards radically improving its quality of service and infrastructure for patients and staff both in the immediate future and in the years to come,” said Dr Mazrul, pointing out that the centre has worked tirelessly to achieve these improvements.
PJSC Executive Director, Dato Seri Laila Jasa Dr N Ravindranathan, gave a brief talk about the centre, its vision and mission, as well as its future.
Dato Seri Paduka Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew and other distinguished guests toured the centre, specifically focussing on the centre’s state-of-the-art facilities and equipment.
Following the tour, Dato Seri Paduka Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew officially opened the centre by participating in a traditional ribbon-cutting ceremony and signing a plaque.
Yesterday’s opening ceremony coincided with the kicking off of the MFPRSC’s free cancer screening clinic for the mouth, neck and skin of head and neck.
The newly opened centre is committed to delivering quality, patient-centred services and state-of-the-art healthcare in the field of maxillofacial, facial plastic, reconstructive surgery, and head and neck surgical oncology. It also offers outpatient care, surgical and laser treatments, as well as cranio-maxillofacial prosthetics and reconstructive implantology services, and houses a 3-D printing laboratory.
Apart from these services, the centre also offers training courses such as the Advanced Training in Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery Trauma, Advanced Diploma in Neuro/Plastic/Cranio-Maxillofacial/Microvascular Surgical Nursing, Diploma for Operation Theatre Assistants, Nursing Student Affiliation, and Training; Internship and Observation for Medical, Dental and Nursing Students.
Meanwhile, the surgical clinic offers a variety of services, notably laser treatment which includes C6 Medlite Laser for face rejuvenation, pigmentation, tattoo removal and hair removal, and VBeam Pulse Dyed Laser for scars, angiomas, AV malformation and port wine stains.
The centre’s Reconstructive Implantology Section on the other hand offers services such as single-tooth implant retained restoration, multiple teeth implant retained restoration, full mouth implant retained fixed or removable restoration, guided bone regeneration, maxillary sinus augmentation, and oral rehabilitation following trauma/oncologic head and neck surgery.
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