Flying doctor service in East Malaysia: Rachel Koshy

Issue/problem

Health services in Malaysia are delivered through a network of static and mobile health facilities which provides promotive, preventive, curative and rehabilitative care. Sabah and Sarawak are states in East Malaysia with difficult and rugged terrain and pockets of population in remote villages that are not accessible by land and river. Mobile health services which include the Flying Doctor Service (FDS) provide basic health services to remote population.

Description of the problem

FDS was introduced in Sarawak in 1973 and in Sabah in 1978 and the services are provided by helicopters which are based in the major towns. They cover 131 villages in Sarawak and more than 60 in Sabah. The FDS medical teams consist of a doctor, assistant medical doctor and nurses and attends to more than 40,000 cases every year.

Results

FDS teams conduct scheduled monthly visits on a rotational basis and provide emergency medical evacuation for ill cases including women with pregnancy related problems from the locality to the nearest hospital. FDS is used during outbreaks of diseases to transport health teams to the affected areas. The service is also utilised to dispatch medicine and other medical supplies to health clinics. FDS teams provide treatment of minor ailments, follow up of chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, detect and prevent communicable diseases like tuberculosis and malaria. Coverage for antenatal cases and immunization in children has increased through these FDS.

Lessons

FDS for the past 40 years has functioned mainly as a mobile clinic providing basic primary medical care thus increasing access to health care to remote, rural native communities in Sabah and Sarawak.

Key messages

• Flying Doctor Service will ensure health care is executed in a seamless manner to the remote population and this will reduce the health service disparity between urban and rural and remote interiors.

• Flying Doctor Service provides promotive, preventive, curative and rehabilitative care for isolated communities.