Portrait of a Malaysian Anaesthetist: T. Sachithanandan -Pioneer, Leader, Gentleman

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 208

Publisher: Silverfish Books

Published: September 2022

Price: RM100

Portrait of a Malaysian Anaesthetist: T. Sachithanandan -Pioneer, Leader, Gentleman is the biography of a charismatic and visionary doctor who shaped the medical profession here through his authentic and seminal work in the fields of intensive care and anaesthesiology.

A London-trained anaesthesiologist, Dr Sachithanandan established the first intensive care unit (ICU) in the Ministry of Health at the General Hospital Johor Bahru (since renamed Sultanah Aminah Hospital) in November 1968. This laid the foundation for the superb present-day ICU facilities widely available in many Ministry of Health hospitals. He also introduced and popularized techniques of regional anaesthesia into local practice, with use of selective nerve blocks, mentoring many juniors in this highly skilled craft.

An early proponent of structured postgraduate medical training, Sachithanandan co-established the first postgraduate medical centre in Malaysia at the General Hospital Johor Bahru in 1969.

A colourful and affable gentleman, Sachithanandan uplifted and refined the role and stature of the anaesthesiologist in the clinical care of patients and within the medical profession here. The first anaesthetist to lead the Malaysian Medical Association, he co-founded several other important medical institutions including the Faculty (now College) of Anaesthesiologists of Malaysia (in 1975) and the Johor Specialist Hospital, the first private hospital in the south of Malaysia, in 1981. Tragically he died unexpectedly in 1981, at only forty-nine.

This biopic narrates the fascinating professional journey of this exceptional Kuala Lumpur-born doctor from student union leader in Calcutta to trainee specialist doctor in vibrant swinging sixties London, to local pioneer anaesthetist in the early years of our fledgling nation, post Independence. Peppered with historical facts and fascinating anecdotes, it provides valuable insights to the struggles and challenges of first generation specialist doctors of that era