KOTA BARU: Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and Yayasan Jantung Kongenital Malaysia (YJKM) have signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) to enable more paediatric heart patients, particularly from the East Coast, to receive treatment and surgery at Hospital USM (HUSM) here.
USM Vice-Chancellor Prof Datuk Seri Dr Abdul Rahman Mohamed said about 250 to 300 babies were born with congenital heart problems in Kelantan annually and a significant number of them come from the low-income and less privileged families.
“Of this number, almost one-third of them require early treatment, either surgically or non-surgically.
“So, with this strategic cooperation, YJKM has agreed to cover hospital treatment costs up to RM3,000 per patient, thereby helping alleviate the burden on this group,” he told reporters after the MOA signing ceremony at USM Kubang Kerian here yesterday, Bernama reported.
Abdul Rahman signed the MOA with YJKM chief executive officer Tan Chin Zhia.
He said HUSM was the only hospital in the East Coast that offered paediatric heart patient surgeries, with about 60 surgeries performed each year, in addition to transcatheter heart treatments and the care of various types of congenital heart diseases for up to 120 patients in the same period.
He said HUSM not only treated patients from Kelantan but also received a significant number of patients from Terengganu.
“Therefore, this two-way collaboration will also benefit patients from outside Kelantan.
“We hope this collaboration can be expanded in the future to help more paediatric heart patients receive better treatment,” Abdul Rahman said.
Meanwhile, Tan said the MOA with USM was their third collaboration since the programme was introduced in 2020, with the first collaboration being with the National Heart Institute followed by Pantai Hospital.
He said that until early this year, the foundation had covered the surgical costs for 15 heart patients nationwide and had contributed a total of RM500,000 for equipment and follow-up treatment assistance to patients.
