AS A STROKE NEUROLOGIST AT ONE OF THE LEADING PRIVATE HOSPITALS IN THE CAPITAL, PROFESSOR DR. H.J. HAMIDON BASRI BEARS TESTAMENT TO PRINCE COURT MEDICAL CENTRE’S VISION FOR CREATING A HEALTH CARE ENVIRONMENT THAT IS INVITING, WELCOMING, AND REASSURING.

Upon arrival, it would be easy to forget that Prince Court Medical Centre is a hospital located right in the heart of the bustling capital Kuala Lumpur. “Feeling better starts with a warm welcome” the hospital declares on its website, and this is an ethos that is clear from the moment you step through the glass doors into the large lobby that more closely represents a hotel than a private medical facility, complete with cafés, smiling staff, and stylish floor-to-ceiling windows that let in the light and add a flash of green from the trees outside in the hospital grounds.

It was an equally warm welcome from Professor Dr. Hamidon Basri, who runs a Neurology clinic in the hospital’s modern Multidisciplinary Centre and who, despite dealing on a daily basis with the complicated (mal)functions of the brain, possesses a laid-back charm and an easy manner that undoubtedly puts his patients at ease.

“I have always believed that we treat the patient and not the problem,” he explains. “Often people come to see me with severe headaches. They are often worried, thinking it is a tumour, and insist on a brain scan.” With careful treatment and diagnosis, Dr. Basri is able to soothe patients, discover the issues beneath the worries, and can often reassure people that their problems are stress related and not alarmingly neurological. “Often it is stress that causes these things,” he says, “so it is important to understand the person while analysing the symptoms.”

That said, Dr. Basri still spends a portion of his time dealing with serious ailments including epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, and strokes, and in his efforts to assist the sufferers he is well supported by his knowledge and the facilities at Prince Court. “When I joined the hospital I helped set up the neurology laboratory,” explains Dr. Basri proudly, “and it is fitted out with all the latest facilities and modern technologies, some of which can’t be found anywhere else in the country.”

It is for this reason that Dr. Basri has seen a steady increase in patient numbers during his four years with Prince Court, and as word spreads about the standard of care on offer at the hospital, he is glad to be welcoming more and more people to the clinic. “The hospital has had some high-profile patients,” he says, among whom were members of royalty, foreign dignitaries and politicians. “Their reviews were good, which has been a real boost.”

Despite more patients translating into busier days for Dr. Basri, he always relishes the interaction. There is nothing as satisfying, he says, as “diagnosing a difficult problem. It is a challenge, but it is a great feeling to have located the issue and hopefully be able to offer some treatment or even a cure.”

He recalls his own pleasure when one patient, who had previously been despondent upon the diagnoses of Parkinson’s disease, was greatly reassured to learn that treatments were available to make a huge difference to his life. “People often don’t fully understand these diseases,” explains Dr. Basri, “and so they tend to think the worst.”

Dr. Basri’s patience and eloquence is obviously key in ensuring patients understand the often complicated processes of their brains, and like many of the doctors available at Prince Court, Dr. Basri supplements his knowledge by keeping himself at the forefront of modern medicine. He is currently undertaking a research project at the Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), in his specialist area of stroke neurology, and he has created a drug that uses palm oil to ensure a more effective delivery of medicine to stroke patients. “We are in the testing stage,” he explains, “so we shall see what happens, but it could help people recover more quickly.”

His research is not only satisfying academically, it also allows Dr. Basri the contentment of “giving something back.” “I feel I have a responsibility to the country to improve the healthcare system,” he explains, going on to outline the various campaigns he is working on to bring about crucial, systematic changes that would see the treatment offered to stroke patients improving and becoming more far-reaching. The statistics are not precisely known, but Dr. Basri suggests that there are around 10,000 new cases each year in Malaysia, and educating people on the risk factors and the symptoms of strokes is just as important as improving the treatment available.

As the president of the Malaysian Society of Neurosciences, these are compaigns close to his heart, and his hopes are that, by the time he takes off his white coat for the last time, he will have made an impact on the healthcare system of the country and eased the way to save more lives than was previously possible.

On a daily basis, though, Dr. Basri continues to make an impact on all the Prince Court Medical Centre patients that pass through his door, delivering the high standard of care that has been his mission ever since he first decided to pursue a career in medicine many years ago. “My Dad was in and out of hospital a lot when I was a child as he had diabetes,” he remembers. “Becoming a doctor just seemed like an interesting thing to do.”

Once he entered medical school, he swiftly realised that interest satisfaction came with responsibility, and while the rose-tinted ideal of doctors being highly respected and hugely wealthy proved to be somewhat inaccurate – “there is a lot more work than anyone tells you!” he laughs – he remains contented with his chosen profession, and more than capable of handling the responsibility that is placed on his shoulders.

“Sometimes I am ready to leave work at 5pm, keen to see my family and beat the traffic home,” he admits, “but then someone walks in and needs my help, and that is all that matters.” The welcome is always warm, no matter how tired Dr. Basri is or how large the traffic jam will be, and with this warmth extending from the individuals in the doctors’ chairs right out to the buildings themselves, Prince Court Medical Centre certainly delivers on its promise.  

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Prince Court Medical Centre
39 Jalan Kia Peng
50450 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Malaysian Hotline: 1-800-88-PCMC
International Hotline: (+6)03.2160 0000
Fax: 03.2160 0010
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.princecourt.com.

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Source: Senses of Malaysia Nov-Dec 2012

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