| Azlan Othman |
A DOA Kesyukuran was held yesterday to mark the completion of the upgrading process of the Acute Medical Unit and Kidney Treatment Unit of Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha (RIPAS) Hospital.
Guest of honour Minister of Health Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohammad Isham bin Haji Jaafar signed a plaque commemorating the event after touring the newly renovated units.
Also in attendance were the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Health (MoH), Haji Abdul Manap bin Othman; Deputy Permanent Secretary (Professional) at the Ministry, Dr Haji Zulaidi bin Haji Abdul Latif, directors, officers and staff.
The Acute Medical Unit was upgraded to address the issue of limited beds in the internal medical ward. The unit at present has two wards that isolate male and female patients and can accommodate 60 patients as a whole compared to only 34 previously.
The upgrade aims to provide safety and comfort to patients as well as equipped with latest medical technology to help better monitor the patients.
Meanwhile, the Kidney Treatment Unit was upgraded to arrange the Dialysis Point based on the rising dialysis treatment requirement.
This upgrade is based on the guideline of disease control that prioritises patients’ safety.
According to a study by the Department of Renal Services MoH, Brunei Darussalam has high number of End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) cases compared to some foreign countries.
Renal Services Department statistics, as of July 2018, stated the number of patients with ESRD in the country requiring renal replacement therapy was 783, of which 658 had undergone hemodialysis treatment, 80 had undergone peritoneal treatment dialysis while the number of patients who had kidney surgery was 45.
The Department of Renal Services created history by performing a kidney transplant surgery for the first time in the country on November 21, 2013 while three kidney transplant surgeries were performed within the past 12 months.
This brings the total to seven cases of kidney transplant surgeries successfully performed until today.
The MoH said all transplant surgeries and treatment procedures have been successfully conducted enabling patients and donors to carry out normal life.
The patient who recently underwent kidney transplantation was Nurul Munirah binti Miramid, with her father Miramid bin Haji Suhaili as donor, in July last year.
Others were Nurzaifadhilah binti Haji Mohd Zairin with Azmil bin Maidin as donor in March this year and Daniel Sak Ang Ping with Sak Tiong Ang as donor.
A total of 38 patients have undergone surgery on full sponsorship from the Government of His Majesty in Malaysia and Singapore.
Meanwhile, 20 patients have undergone kidney transplant at their own expenses.
According to the provision, any patient undergoing kidney transplant has to have renal organ donation only from a close family member like the mother, father, siblings or spouse.
Local kidney transplant surgery has put Brunei on the world map as one of the countries that can offer the service.
The kidney transplant programme is the best procedure for a patient with ESRD compared to other renal replacement therapy treatments such as hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis.
The kidney transplant surgery is far more cost effective than dialysis treatment.