A patient from Selangor referred to UCSI Hospital at Bandar Springhill, Port Dickson was surprised and delighted to find retired Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah as her attending doctor. To her and the rest of Malaysians, Dr Noor Hisham is regarded as a “Covid-19 hero”, a household name in Malaysia when he was the director-general of Health Ministry in 2020. Wearing his white coat, he stood at the forefront of the pandemic battle in 2020, during a turbulent political period that saw Malaysia change prime ministers three times in three years. Some painted his portrait in tribute, children wrote heartfelt thank-you notes, and local artists immortalized his image in murals across the city to express their appreciation that he had led the medical team in Malaysia to combat Covid-19. On April 21, 2023, holding a bouquet of flowers, he retired from his long-held post as the Director-General of the Health Ministry after 35 years of public service, including 10 years as the director-general. Fading away from the limelight, Dr Noor Hisham does not lead a quiet life. Instead, he continues to save life at USCI hospital. “I’m very excited now! Although I retired from the government, my career in the private sector only began less than two years ago. This allows me to contribute more in private healthcare,” he said with a smile. In October 2023, less than half a year after leaving the public sector as the Director-General of Health Ministry, he was appointed chairman of UCSI Healthcare Group, based at Springhill Hospital in Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan. Now, his week consists of two days of outpatient consultations, three days for surgeries, meetings or lectures, and the rest of the time is reserved for planning and strategizing. “Mondays and Wednesdays are my clinic days—I’m in the clinic until 3 or 4 p.m., reviewing reports and scans. On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, I may be in the operating theatre or attending meetings with other hospitals,” he said. Driving private healthcare development With enthusiasm, he used his computer mouse to show the layout of UCSI hospital on screen. “Look, there are five entrances, so ambulances won’t get stuck…” He clicked to another image. “The hospital and surrounding facilities cover about 160 acres. Next door will be a Google data center, and across the road is a Chinese medical equipment manufacturer that will produce and export to the Asian market,” he said. He spoke at length about the hospital’s expansion plans and his vision for developing private healthcare—a new goal he’s pursuing post-retirement, pouring his time and energy back into his greatest passion. A surgeon at heart Noor Hisham, an endocrine surgeon specializing in breast cancer treatment, showed several clinical photographs—some bloody, some depicting rare and complex cases. While others might look away, he examined them intently, explaining with focus and certainty, emphasizing that Malaysia’s medical standards are on par with other countries. Seeing how much of his time is still spent on consultations, surgeries, and medical meetings, we […]
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