Editing Sarawak (section)

=== Healthcare ===
{{see also|List of hospitals in Malaysia}}
[[File:27 August 2011 Sarawak General Hospital.jpg|thumbnail|The [[Sarawak General Hospital]]]]
Health care in provided by three major government hospitals, [[Sarawak General Hospital]], [[Sibu Hospital]], and [[Miri Hospital]],<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lim |first1=How Pim |title=Sarawak gets 3 more hospitals |url=http://www.theborneopost.com/2014/08/18/sarawak-gets-3-more-hospitals/ |access-date=19 December 2015 |newspaper=The Borneo Post |date=18 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140822063031/http://www.theborneopost.com/2014/08/18/sarawak-gets-3-more-hospitals/ |archive-date=22 August 2014}}</ref> as well as numerous district hospitals,<ref name="Sarawak specialists">{{cite news |title=Alternative pathways to overcome the lack of specialists in Sarawak |url=http://www.thestar.com.my/news/community/2014/11/15/efforts-to-address-shortage-alternative-pathways-to-overcome-the-lack-of-specialists-in-sarawak/ |access-date=19 December 2015 |newspaper=The Borneo Post |date=15 November 2014 |quote=Dr Jerip said there were currently 248 specialists distributed among the major hospitals in the state, comprising the Sarawak General Hospital, Sibu Hospital and Miri Hospital, as well as several divisional hospitals.}}</ref> public health clinics, [[1Malaysia#1Malaysia clinics|1Malaysia clinics]], and rural clinics.<ref name="Oxford healthcare">{{cite web |title=Sarawak makes efforts to boost access to health care |date=23 April 2015 |url=http://www.oxfordbusinessgroup.com/overview/sarawak-makes-efforts-boost-access-health-care |publisher=Oxford Business Group |access-date=19 December 2015 |quote=Sarawak's 221 public health clinics include only seven rural clinics. Services for the poor are also provided at 1Malaysia clinics, where assistant medical officers provide basic health care, but again, these clinics – of which the state has 18 – have historically been located mainly in urban areas.}}</ref> Sarawak Heart Centre was set up in 2011 in [[Kota Samarahan]] to provide cardiology services to patients.<ref>{{cite web |title=About Us |url=https://www.sarawakheart.org/about-us |publisher=Sarawak Heart Centre |access-date=29 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210616111553/https://www.sarawakheart.org/about-us |archive-date=16 June 2021}}</ref> Besides government-owned hospitals and clinics, there are several private hospitals in Sarawak<ref>{{cite news |last1=Nigel |first1=Edgar |title=Wednesday, 4 December 2013 Sarawak recognises importance of private hospitals such as Borneo Medical Centre |url=http://www.thestar.com.my/news/community/2013/12/04/giving-healthcare-a-huge-boost-state-recognises-importance-of-private-hospitals-such-as-borneo-medic/ |access-date=19 December 2015 |newspaper=The Star (Malaysia) |date=4 December 2013}}</ref> such as the Normah Medical Specialists Centre, Timberland Medical Specialists Centre,<ref>{{cite web |title=Quality of Life |url=http://www.sarawak.gov.my/web/home/article_view/209/225/ |publisher=The Sarawak Government |access-date=19 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150909202618/http://www.sarawak.gov.my/web/home/article_view/209/225/ |archive-date=9 September 2015}}</ref> and Sibu Specialist Medical Centre. Hospitals in Sarawak typically provide the full gamut of health care options, from triage to palliative care for the terminally ill. In 1994, Sarawak General Hospital Department of Radiotherapy, Oncology & Palliative Care instituted an at-home care, or [[hospice]] care, program for cancer patients. The non profit Sarawak Hospice Society was established in 1998 to promote this program.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sarawak Hospice Society |url=http://www.sarawakhospicesociety.org/index.php?page=sarawak-hospice-society |publisher=Sarawak Hospice Society |access-date=19 December 2015 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150126135600/http://www.sarawakhospicesociety.org/index.php?page=sarawak-hospice-society |archive-date=26 January 2015}}</ref>
In comparison to the number of other medical facilities, mental health is only serviced by a single facility, Hospital Sentosa.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Johnson |first1=K Saai |title=People still dump mental patients at Hospital Sentosa |url=http://www.theborneopost.com/2010/10/28/%E2%80%98people-still-dump-mental-patients-at-hospital-sentosa%E2%80%99/ |access-date=19 December 2015 |newspaper=The Borneo Post |date=28 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151219073010/http://www.theborneopost.com/2010/10/28/%E2%80%98people-still-dump-mental-patients-at-hospital-sentosa%E2%80%99/ |archive-date=19 December 2015}}</ref> This abundance of medical services has made Sarawak a medical tourism destination for visitors from neighbouring Brunei and Indonesia.<ref>{{cite news |title=Sarawak wants more participation in private healthcare sector |url=http://www.therakyatpost.com/news/2015/08/01/sarawak-wants-more-participation-in-private-healthcare-sector/ |access-date=19 December 2015 |newspaper=The Rakyat Post |date=1 August 2015 |archive-date=22 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222131807/http://www.therakyatpost.com/news/2015/08/01/sarawak-wants-more-participation-in-private-healthcare-sector/ |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In comparison to the prevalence of health services in urban regions, much of rural Sarawak is only accessible by river transport, which limits access.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Chin |first1=Mui Yoon |title=Access to healthcare a challenge for Sarawak's interior folk |url=http://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/features/2012/02/27/access-to-healthcare-a-challenge-for-sarawaks-interior-folk/ |access-date=19 December 2015 |newspaper=The Star (Malaysia) |date=27 February 2012}}</ref> Remote rural areas that are beyond the operating areas of health clinics, about {{cvt|12|km}},<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ariff |first1=K.M |last2=Teng |first2=CL |title=Rural health care in Malaysia |journal=Australian Journal of Rural Health |date=2002 |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=99–103 |pmid=12047504 |quote=The FDS in Sarawak was launched in 1973 to provide healthcare to communities residing outside the 'extended operational area' limits of the health centre (beyond 12 km). |doi=10.1046/j.1440-1584.2002.00456.x}}</ref> and inaccessible by land or river are serviced by a monthly flying doctor service, which was established in 1973.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Koshy |first1=Rachel |title=Flying doctor service in East Malaysia: Rachel Koshy |journal=European Journal of Public Health |date=1 October 2013 |volume=23 |issue=1 |page=223 |doi=10.1093/eurpub/ckt123.184 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
A village health promoter program, where volunteers are provided with basic medical training, was established in 1981 but difficulty in providing medical supplies to remote villages, as well as a lack of incentive, resulted in a decline of the program.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Leng Chee |first1=Heng |last2=Barraclough |first2=Simon |title=Health Care in Malaysia: The Dynamics of Provision, Financing and Access |date=6 March 2007 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-134-11295-1 |page=195 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hANe_y3bPmkC&pg=PA196 |access-date=30 March 2016}}</ref> A variety of traditional medicine practices are still being used by the various communities in Sarawak to supplement modern medical practices but this practice is also declining.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Leng Chee |first1=Heng |last2=Barraclough |first2=Simon |title=Health Care in Malaysia: The Dynamics of Provision, Financing and Access |date=6 March 2007 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-134-11295-1 |page=196 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hANe_y3bPmkC&pg=PA196 |access-date=30 March 2016 |quote=While there were systems of traditional medicine and a traditional pharmacopoenia among the indigenous communities in Sarawak, they have largely fallen into disuse&nbsp;...}}<br />{{*}} {{cite web |last1=Bawin Anggat |first1=Nicholas |title=Traditional Medicines of Borneo at Risk |url=http://health.usf.edu/NR/rdonlyres/00A35B41-CD50-4B4C-B2E7-906C090C31B7/26990/TraditionalMedicinesofBorneo1.pdf |access-date=30 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160330133431/http://health.usf.edu/NR/rdonlyres/00A35B41-CD50-4B4C-B2E7-906C090C31B7/26990/TraditionalMedicinesofBorneo1.pdf |archive-date=30 March 2016}}<br />{{*}} {{cite news |title=Chinese traditional medicine |url=http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/11/08/chinese-traditional-medicine/ |access-date=30 March 2016 |newspaper=The Borneo Post |date=8 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114061013/http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/11/08/chinese-traditional-medicine |archive-date=14 November 2012}}</ref> However, since 2004, there has been a resurgence in traditional medicine in Malaysia resulting in the establishment of a traditional medicine division within the Ministry of Health. A 2006 government program to have integrated hospitals led to numerous universities starting programs to teach traditional medicine and major hospitals, including Sarawak General Hospital, providing traditional therapies.<ref>
 {{cite journal |last1=Abuduli |first1=Maihebureti |last2=Ezat |first2=Sharifa |last3=Aljunid |first3=Syed |title=Role of traditional and complementary medicine in universal coverage |journal=Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine |date=2011 |volume=11 |issue=2 |page=1 |url=http://www.mjphm.org.my/mjphm/journals/Volume%2011:2/GUEST%20EDITORIAL.pdf |access-date=30 March 2016 |quote=There are nine integrated public hospitals which are practicing T&CM in Malaysia.&nbsp;... Sarawak General Hospital&nbsp;... These hospitals practice traditional Malay massage, acupuncture, herbal oncology and postnatal massage.}}</ref>