PETALING JAYA: Dr Thomas Francis is the “Lone Ranger of Sabah”.
He is the only government cardiothoracic surgeon in the state, which has a population of 3.5 million.
Dr Thomas is the head of department of cardiothoracic surgery at Hospital Queen Elizabeth II in Kota Kinabalu and is also the state head of cardiothoracic services.
He is one of only 13 cardiothoracic surgeons serving in the Health Ministry’s hospitals nationwide and receives patients from all over Sabah.
Dr Thomas said recent discussions on the shortage of cardiologists in Sabah was both timely and important.
“Alongside cardiology services, cardiothoracic surgery also has significant potential, to provide timely and comprehensive care to definitive surgical care for heart and lung conditions.
“As part of the pioneering second batch of the Parallel Pathway Programme in Cardiothoracic Surgery, I was trained under the ministry for six years, followed by a year of fellowship in the United Kingdom.
“I served at Hospital Serdang for nearly three years before coming to Sabah,” said the doctor whose family is from Kuala Lumpur.
He said over the past year, they performed more than 270 cardiac and thoracic procedures, including coronary artery bypass grafting, valve surgeries, lung cancer resections and paediatric cardiac surgeries.
Patients are referred from across Sabah, including Tawau, Sandakan and Labuan.
Dr Thomas said more surgeons are needed to expand and enhance services.
“As a single-surgeon centre, there are naturally challenges in balancing service demands, workload and time with family, but these are part of building and sustaining a developing service.”
The 40-year-old said he is committed to contributing to the growth of cardiothoracic services in Sabah.
“I encourage young doctors and healthcare professionals to consider Sabah as a place to grow, learn and make an impact.
“Here, you can gain broad clinical exposure, work alongside dedicated teams and contribute to building essential services.
“With continued specialist training programmes, I am confident the cardiothoracic and cardiology services at Hospital Queen Elizabeth 2 can evolve into a centre of excellence for cardiac and thoracic services in the region,” Dr Thomas said.
In 2024, a shortage of cardiothoracic surgeons in the country left some 1,500 heart and lung disease patients in government hospitals in dire straits.
At the time, Malaysian graduates sent by the government to study cardiothoracic surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) were unable to practise in Malaysia as their qualifications were not accepted by the Malaysian Medical Council.
An eventual amendment to the Medical Act last year saw their parallel pathway programme gain recognition.
