The Joint Venture

The cat was out of the bag. Soon, I will be no longer be under the Sime Darby Healthcare label. A joint venture program was announced yesterday to the staffs although the press had covered it in the previous few days. The Healthcare arm of Sine Darby had acquired a partner in Ramsay Healthcare from Australia.

The management went the extra length to assure us thy business would be as usual. Well, considering that the merger was at the level above the Healthcare management, we would be sure that there would not be much change at the beginning. It was what coming in the next few years which worries some people. But the fact that the Chairman of Sime Darby himself turned up - in a wheelchair having a knee replacement the week before at SJ - showed how much the management wanted the natives to know that this was an important move.

It sounded like a sound business decision and we would wait to see if the Australian would be offering us more than just an injection of funds. The corporate rebranding would start in July.

Exciting times moving ahead I hope .....

SDMC Desa ParkCity

A bit of corporate info, Sime Darby Healthcare had a couple of outlets when I joined - the famed SDMC Subang Jaya and the day hospital Sime Darby Specialist Center at Taman Megah. Since then SDMC Ara Damansara was opened earlier this year, and on 12.12.12 SDMC Desa ParkCity had its soft launch.

I do Haematology consults at Ara Damansara as well as was involved with the blood bank service there, but I do not have any clinics running there. On the other hand, I would have a couple of clinics at Desa ParkCity every week, increasing to three as I go along. So, this afternoon, I visited the new hospital - well, more like sneaked in. The Security fella was kind enough to show me around the place after I showed my ID. The ER was still quiet but the Medical wards had been opened for the last couple of weeks. The lobby was still empty and the signage has yet to be put up.

Fountain by the entranceThe empty lobbyThe building thus far looked to be well laid out - at least the thought behind it was clearer compared to Ara Damansara. The carpark was on a separate building connected via a couple of bridges. The Emergency Room was directly connected to the operating theatre for emergency surgery. The corridor was wider, and security was via ID card to open doors. But signage as I mentioned was still missing.

On the first floor where the outpatient clinics were located, the Paediatric Clinic opened out into an open-air play area. My boys had tried the swings there before I could say anything. The cafeteria was still closed, so those patients admitted so far might be struggling to get food other than hospital meals.

Entrance to the outpatient clinicIrfan exploring the play area by the Paediatrics outpatientYup! It was all tested by the boys! LULUS!Only a couple of wards were opened thus farI will try the results system and the clinic in the coming months. I was sure that there would be problems at the beginning, and there would be some time for me to get used to things. Driving there was still a nightmare, and the traffic from Subang was heavy despite this being Sunday afternoon. Time to brace myself ..... But at least the neighbourhood looked nice and green.

Last Six Months

Yes. It has been six months since I was offered to join Sime Darby, and plenty of things had happened. I also filled my tax return today, and suffice to say, I'm broke!

Things had certainly picked up in the last three months, and even my Mum complained that I hardly came around as frequently. The new apartment also came in handy, as I didn't have to travel all the way to Gombak every time I was called to the hospital.

Alhamdulillah, six months certainly flew by in double quick time, and only recently that I started to understand the philosophy of private practice. Managing expectations seemed to be as important as having good clinical acumen. But, as I said all along, I must not complaint ....