Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad shared his experience at the Epworth Hospital in Melbourne, Australia

Epworth Hospital is capable of performing Robotic prostatectomy operations

Former Malaysian Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was recently warded at the Epworth Hospital in Australia for suspected viral infection in the chest. Tun Dr Mahathir who ruled Malaysia from 1981 to 2003, shared his experience in his blog : http://chedet.co.cc/chedetblog/2010/10/melbourne-experience-the-hospi.html#more
is is his writings in full :

1. After three days in the Epworth Hospital, it was suggested that I be discharged but should continue treatment under the Hospital in the Home service.

2. The Home Hospital has a full staff of doctors, specialists and nurses. They will carry out the full hospital treatment, periodical medical examination and treatment, intravenous drips, physiotherapy etc. They do not stay with patients but would visit at the designated time and stay as long as necessary.

3. It is far better than house-call by doctors as they can only give limited service. You feel you are being well looked after as in the hospital, but you have the ambience of home and family.

4. I don't know if we have this service or not but I believe it can contribute to being a developed country.

5. Another service I experienced is the ambulance service. The two ambulance personnel are very highly trained to give first aid including CPR, proper handling of fractures, take blood pressure and heart rate, ECG and other signs and symptoms.

6. They handle their patients very competently, are in continuous communication with the hospital to ensure preparation for receiving the patients.

7. I believe an effort was made by local doctors to provide this kind of service in Kuala Lumpur. Unfortunately after the ambulances had been acquired the financiers backed out. The Return on Investment was not good enough.

8. The Government does not operate a full ambulance service. Nor do all hospitals provide such service.

9. There are now many hospitals in KL - both public and private. A good ambulance service can save many lives.

10. Maybe the Government could afford to support the superior ambulance service in one way or another - at least until they become viable. What we need is just one. If several such service is licensed, all would be likely to fail.


According to the hospital's website, Epworth Hospital is a private not for profit hospital group that operates under its own Act of Parliament, "The Epworth Foundation Act 1980". All surplus revenue generated is reinvested in improving patient care.

Opened in 1920 as a community hospital in Richmond with 25 beds and 5 staff members, Epworth HealthCare has grown to be one of Australia's leading specialist hospitals renowned both locally and overseas.

Epworth HealthCare operates 6 hospitals and is Melbourne's largest not for profit hospital provider.

As a not for profit private hospital Epworth HealthCare recieves no State or Federal Government funding and all surplus revenue generated during the year is reinvested in to new services and equipment, aimed at providing the best possible health care for the almost 90,000 patients admitted to Epworth HealthCare hospitals each year.

Epworth HealthCare has a reputation for providing excellence in patient care and has an impressive list of 'firsts' to its name:

1981 First open heart surgery facility in a private hospital in Victoria

1981 First private hospital in Australia to establish an Intensive Care
facility
1989 First fully computerised Sleep Disorders Unit in Australia

1989 First private Emergency Department accredited to accept time
critical medical patients

1989 First private Renal Dialysis Unit

1996 First Stroke Unit in a private hospital in Victoria

1997 First private hospital in Victoria to appoint a GP Coordinator

2000 First medically managed Hospital in the Home Unit in a
private hospital in Australia

2000 First pacemaker lead extraction using laser therapy

2002 First dedicated electrophysiology laboratory opened in Victoria's
health system

2003 first aboveground radiotherapy centre in Australia. Tattersalls
Cancer Centre opened at Epworth in partnership with Peter Mac

2003 First hospital in southern hemisphere to use Image Guided
Radiation Therapy

2003 Epworth introduces first Da Vinci Robotic assisted surgery to
Australia

2003 Epworth opens the first private sector Medical Observation Unit
in Victoria

2003 Three 'world first' vascular procedures are carried out at
Epworth's Vascular Laboratory:
1. Insertion of a large diameter stent (Express Vascular Large Diameter Stent)
2. Ultrasonic thrombolysis trialled at Epworth
3. Use of a new abdominal aortic aneurysm polymer repair device

2005 Australia's most modern hospital, Epworth Eastern at Box Hill,
is completed and was officially opened by the Federal Health Minister, Tony Abbott on August 2nd, 2005.

Get well soon Tun Dr Mahathir and rest well..