Contents Chapter Topic Page Neonatology Respiratory Cardiology

Foreword
By Director General of Health, Malaysia
MALAYSIA is a young country with a relatively young population. One third of
Malaysians are under 15 years of age. While many children live in urban areas
with ready access to specialist care, many still live in rural areas, where services
are largely provided by medical officers. It is essential that these children receive
timely and appropriate treatment when they present at government clinics and
hospitals.
Over the years the Ministry has taken many steps to ensure that doctors serving
in the rural areas are prepared for their placement and have regular continuous
professional development. Nonetheless, there are still some doctors who are
posted to the rural area before completing their pediatric rotation. As specialist
supervision is not always present, these doctors need ready access to treatment
protocols covering pediatric conditions, especially emergencies, commonly
encountered locally. Such protocols may have to be relatively didactic for use by
those on the ground.
Such a set of pediatric protocols has been available for some time for the state of
Sarawak. Now pediatricians from all parts of the country have contributed to a
more comprehensive manual, addressing topics covering the whole range of
pediatrics.
I hope that this manual will be widely circulated and utilized with the aim of
improving the care of children through out the country.
Thank you.
Yours sincerely,