Sunway Group Healthcare achieved a major milestone in its commitment to the health and well-being of society with the launch of the Sunway Traditional and Complementary Medicine Centre (Sunway TCM Centre). Representing a holistic approach to medicine and health, Sunway TCM Centre marries the traditional and cultural practices of the East with the modern, technology-driven approach of the West.
The grand launch of Sunway TCM Centre was officiated by the Deputy Minister of Health Malaysia, Dr. Lee Boon Chye and Sunway Group Founder and Chairman, Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr. Jeffrey Cheah. Also present during the launch were Director of Traditional and Complementary Medicine Division, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Dr. Goh Cheng Soon; Managing Director of Sunway Group Healthcare Services, Lau Beng Long; Chief Executive Officer (Investments & Projects), Sunway Medical Centre, Bryan Lin Boon Diann; and Head Consultant of Sunway TCM Centre, Dr. Lim Ren Jye.
In his opening speech, Tan Sri Dr. Jeffrey Cheah elaborated on traditional and complementary medicine’s global presence whereby “170 out of 194 Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) have now accorded official recognition of TCM. Many of them have even developed laws, policies and programmes in this sector.”
This was further reinforced by Dr. Lee Boon Chye as he details that this development was in line with the World Health Organization Traditional Medicine Strategy 2014-2023 which recognises the contribution of TCM to health. “We are guided by a vision that one day, TCM and modern medicine will harmoniously co-exist for a strengthened Malaysian health system,” Dr. Lee said.
Malaysia stands as one of the countries that has successfully embraced and capitalised on the potential TCM has to offer. On 13 March 2018, the National TCM Blueprint 2018 – 2027 was launched, serving the purpose of facilitating the regulation of TCM and health system integration. It also encouraged the economic development of the TCM industry for it to meaningfully contribute to Malaysia’s healthcare, economic and social-cultural goals in the next 10 years.
Merging East with West
Integrating traditional practices with modern medicine is not an easy feat however as Dr. Lim Ren Jye explains that, “Modern medicine and TCM have different approaches and it can be difficult to integrate them when there is a lack of understanding from both worlds.”
“At Sunway TCM Centre, we have the advantage of having a team of professionals qualified in both western medicine and TCM. We have a TCM practitioner who has a MBBS and a pharmacist with herbal medicine background and a Bachelor’s in pharmacy. This allows them to understand the benefits of what both fields of medicine can offer and with this, the ability to provide the best possible options and treatment management for our patients.”
To overcome this, it is the one of the centre’s goals in providing exceptional research and education. As noted by Tan Sri Dr. Jeffrey Cheah, Sunway TCM is one of only a handful of centres with medical professionals who are grounded in both western and traditional medicine.
For details, please log on to https://www.sunwaytcm.com/
