DOC'S LIFE
HEALTH CARE IN THE FIFTIES: PART 2
Reminscences from our Veteran Colleagues
O Mimi MMed (Fam Med)
Klinik Kesihatan Kelana Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Address for correspondence: Dr Mimi Omar, Pakar Perubatan Keluarga, Klinik Kesihatan Kelana Jaya, Lot 38294, Jalan SS 6/3A, 47301 Kelana Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. Email: drmimiomar@gmail.com
Mimi O. Health care in the fifties: Part 2. Reminiscences from our veteran colleagues. Malaysian Family Physician. 2007;2(1):41-43
The Travelling Dresser
Haji Mohamad bin Abdul Latiff’s study was interrupted by the Japanese occupation (1941-1945). After the war ended, armed only with a Junior Cambridge certificate, he was immediately accepted as a probationer dresser (trainee hospital assistant) at Kuantan District Hospital. He was given hospital quarters and received $40 a month.
It was the Emergency period with the communist insurgency in full swing; he saw many soldiers and communists admitted with gunshot wounds. In those days, there were only two doctors in the 150-bedded District Hospital, hence medical assistants and nurses took on lots more clinical responsibilities than it is now. His duty during school visits was to check Std. 1 pupils for enlarged spleen; a sign of malaria. Half of the children were found to have splenomegaly and were treated with quinine. There were so many cases of malnutrition and worm infestation that iron tonics and deworming were routinely administered to every patient. He had to grind and mix the iron tonic himself following a specified formula. Patients were given a dose of castor oil after deworming and passed out balls of worms.
On passing the Grade 3 Dresser Examination in 1947, he was given the post of travelling dresser covering villages in Kuantan and Pekan. He recalled that he had to visit some villages by bus, and often by boat as well since there were hardly any roads linking them to the town. He had to carry the medications, a portable stove and a boiler (to sterilize the needles and glass syringes). Special permission was obtained for him to give penicillin injection. He noted that procaine penicillin injection produced dramatic cure for yaws, a non-syphilitic infection caused by Treponema that is hardly seen nowadays. He came across many cases of filiariasis in a village.
Being a congenial person, he was assigned to Pulau Tioman where part of his duty was to play host to many dignitaries who stayed at the dispensary since there were no hotels on the island then. Pay day was a four-hour ride on a fishing boat to Mersing to collect his salary in cash.After serving in Pulau Tioman for three years (1952-1955), he was transferred to Kuala Lipis General Hospital where he passed the Grade 1 Hospital Assistant Examination and earned a salary of $366 per month. Kuala Lipis was the capital of Pahang at the time. Thereafter he was posted again as travelling dresser covering Lipis and Jerantut districts. He related one unforgettable incident that occurred while he was accompanying some Ministry of Health officers on a visit to Ulu Tembeling, Kuala Tahan. A young lady approached the group and insisted on meeting him. She brought along a live chicken, some petai (a jungle fruit), a pumpkin and a jar of tempoyak (fermented durian) as gifts to him. Apparently he had cured her paralysis previously with three injections using his miracle concoction of vitamin B complex and liver extract!
Haji Mohamad was later transferred to Kota Bharu General Hospital where he retired in 1980. He continued working on contract until his last post at the Pengkalan Chepa Welfare Home in 1986. His excellent community services did not go unnoticed and he was presented with several state awards (AMN, PPM, PJK). After retirement, he served as a member of the Pahang Public Service Commission.
Figure 1. Hj Mohamed Abdul Latiff
