Four out of every 10 adult Malaysians above 18 years are either overweight or obese; Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said according to statistics, the prevalence of adult obesity in Malaysia had more than tripled within 10 years (1996-2006). [Bernama]
So, chances are one in every two to three persons that are reading this article now is overweight or obese. For your health sake, lose some weight now… and I probably need to to something about mine too.
Deputy Health Minister Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff has caused uproar among medical professionals for his ‘licensed to kill’ statement when replying to a question in parliament on Monday.
Abdul Latiff was responding on why the government decided to extend the houseman-ship period for trainee doctors from one to two years when he blurted out the controversial words.
What he said was harsh and stupid, but he actually made a good point for his entire speech, that doctors are responsible for the life or death of their patients. Any mistakes or poor judgments from the doctors could lead to serious illness, injuries or fatality… and these cases are not unheard of in Malaysia.
I have a friend who was asked to do an angiogram (normally for heart problems) when she got a gastric; another unfortunate friend had half of his liver cut off because the doctor wrongly diagnosed his earlier symptoms… luckily he survived.
I am sure most of you have heard of some bizarre cases where doctors were making the wrong calls… not from gossips or papers, but real cases among your friends and relatives. For me, it happens a bit too often to be frank.
Licensed to kill? Maybe not; but incompetent doctors certainly could.
A bizarre news…
A woman carefully packed her son’s severed fingertip in ice and rushed it to the hospital hoping that doctors would be able to re-attach it.
However, a hospital staff took one look at it and decided it could not be re-attached. He then flushed the digit down the toilet.
A flabbergasted Zuraiza Omar has lodged a police report on the incident and is claiming that Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital was negligent.
Zuraiza’s son, Muhamad Shaeidil Amir, 11, was injured on Friday when he accidentally sliced off the tip of his left forefinger while cutting off the top of a coconut with a parang at his home in Kampung Batu Menunggul, Air Putih, Pendang. [NST]
It’s not wrong if the hospital couldn’t attach the fingertip back to where it is supposed to be… but what on earth were they thinking when they flushed it down the toilet?
Hospital’s negligent? Probably… but what was the mum doing by letting an 11-year-old kid playing with a heavy knife? That is an obvious parenting negligent.
I felt sorry for the boy.
Malaysia recorded 30,285 dengue cases so far this year with 65 deaths, up from 20,258 cases and 49 deaths in the first seven months of 2006. [CNN]
Malaysia has been fighting with dengue all these years, but the dengue cases and death toll is still among the highest in the world. I am not sure what our government has done to cope with this… but their effort is clearly not good enough.
It’s irritating that some government leaders are busy playing political stance and neglecting some fundamental stuff. Pak Lah himself is showing a bad example… going places announcing all those BS development plans that are clearly meant to fish votes by the next election. Helloooo… people are dying here.
The media is to be blamed as well… I have a feeling that they are over-focused on buzz that could boost their sales and not taking social responsibility that they should. Just take a page or two to raise the awareness of Dengue prevention, that would do well to help the case.
As for you, remember to check for stagnant water at your home and environment, use larvicides if needed and be aware of the danger of Dengue.