I have to agree with Puteri Umno chief Noraini Ahmad that National Service trainees should go for medical check-ups before joining the programme.
I think the Government ought to take this matter seriously. A trainee may have a heart condition that he may not even be aware of until after he has undergone a medical check-up.
I would suggest trainees who are asthmatic produce medical certificates to the National Service headquarters.
Noraini was responding to Health Minister Dr Chua Soi Lek's statement on the issue yesterday (Thursday, May 24 2007).
Bernama has the story. Click here.
The Star has Chua here.
I agree with you entirely K. Ena. Sudden death in a young adult/adolescent is usually due to a heart condition, with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (inherited condition resulting in thickening of the heart muscle, and sudden cardiac death) leading the way. Now it is relatively rare, up to 0.2% prevalence, but multiply this by the no. of NS trainees, you will probably get about 20 per year, and most of them undiagnosed before, unless appropriate screening measures are in place!
ReplyDeleteSudden death in HCM occurs around 6% per year in children, and is usually due to extreme exertion. The Health Minister will be wise to heed the Puteri Umno's advice, I say!
Ayah aka RS
Dear Nuraina,
ReplyDeleteFor some children, just being away from their parents can be heartbreaking. There are 18 year olds and 18YEARS OLD. I agree, all those for NS should undergo necessary check-ups (esp. undetected heart ailments). Its quite sad though, the cost of such examinations are rather costly if borne by the trainees families.(considering, nearly all of the NS trainees are from the middle class downwards). The number of patients waiting in any Gov't hospital for checkups seems endless. There must be some options readily available for future NS trainees to get reasonable costs for checkups in private clinics (maybe subsidised by the NS Board). I hope Puteri Umno will push this further to the top, so that we can avoid pain, unhappiness and unnecessary loss. I believe in qada and qadar, but we also need to take care of our young people.
Rubiah Ariff