Sunday, March 1, 2009

Lau King Howe Hospital Memorial Museum

Lau King Howe Hospital Memorial Museum is the latest attraction to Sibu town. Located at original site of the Lau King Howe hospital at Sibu Town Square Phase 2.

Admission is free. Closed on Monday and public holiday. There are clear notices inside and outside that the area this museum is scrutinized by CCTVs.

The museum houses records of the life of the late Lau King Howe, pictures and materials depicting the development and tools used in this hospital as well as other hospitals in Sarawak

The Lau King Howe Hospital Memorial Museum is the first of its kind in Sibu and the only one of such magnitude in Malaysia

This is the original layout of the original Lau King Howe Hospital. However, almost all the structures had been demolished to give way to the construction of the town square. Only one small fraction remain and is converted to this museum.

The statue of Lau King Howe

Some antic surgical tables and equipment used during surgery.

The famous surgeon of the hospital as well as Sibu, Dr. Wong Soon Kai who turn into politician at some stage of his illustrious career.

Surgical tools on display

A section with detailed equipment and tools when delivering babies

There is also a section depicting a dark room, where X-ray films were developed

Some history of ICU as well as equipment and tools used in this unit

Old photo can also be seen around the wall at this museum

Laundry drying machine used in the 1980s

I am glad Florence Nightingale, the mother of modern nursing receive some recognition here.

Some history on the nursing school in Sibu, evolution of nurse uniforms and etc. Interesting arrays of badges, belt buckles and epaulette to indicate the rank of the nurses and their personal achievement.

Before the introduction of trolley, this basket was widely used (known as rattan basket system) to move the critical tools and equipment

Equipment used in the labs are also on display here. I think most of these testing equipment were obsolete now and been phased out in our modern hospital.

There is a small section which highlight the pharmaceutical department in a hospital. Tools, reference books and equipment used by the pharmacist are displayed here.

Those who live in Sibu long enough should be familiar with KK tablet, which is actually Paracetamol. I remember I used to take this pill when I was a kid. The history of the tablet and how it is manufactured is well illustrated here.

More antics at the museum

Dentistry Department

Been told, these are the cradles used back then to put the new born babies and method used to weight the babies.

Tools used to bath and clean the babies born in the hospital. Notice the metal container used for this purpose

Home based health card system which still used until this very day

The lighting system used back then to serve the rural area. Portable battery was used to light electric lighting.

Another antic refrigerator on display which can be powered up by 3 methods, AC (wall socket), DC (battery) and gas. This refrigerator was used in the 1960s to preserve vaccines in clinics for a longer period. With its versatility, it is therefore portable and suitable to be used in rural area.

The contribution of Lau Ling Howe to the Sibu community will always be remembered and immortalized here at this museum

Some suggestions to improve this museum
- Established an interactive section (such as video room and etc) for visitors to view
- Lack of modern medical equipment on display, almost all equipment on display are antics.
- Include booklet or leaflets for visitor to gain more information on the museum and its history

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

cool. i wanna be there if i visit sibu.

history teaches us to learn from the past =)

Anonymous said...

i think it's interesting to visit this kind of place but i also wonder if any extra interesting events took place in this kind of place before too like we watch in some horror movies... hmm.. maybe i think too much.

escape said...

a hospital and a museum at the same time?! wow! it's quite unqiue. you wont find it here in the philippines.

JL said...

They let people take pictures in the museum? Gosh that's nice. People aren't allowed to take photos in the royal museum in JB :\

Borneo Falcon said...

Well, I asked whether photos are allowed and they said it is alright. There is also no signboard that forbid photos/camera

LEon said...

Looking at some of the old hospital equipment can be rather scary...if you think about the history of it.

DT said...

can anyone provide me information whether i can still check my birth time by means the records of my birth at Sibu Hospital. Do they keep records of 80s patients born at Lau King Howe?

Rambo Othman said...

I was born there...

kamarul said...

i was born there, 31 years ago. sad to inform that, from now on my place of birth is "nil"

drlydiamason said...

Aaaawww.....I use to stay at the government quarters a colonial styled called "riverview" annexed the resident house where last rajah Vyner Brooke used to stay .... which is next to this hospital and I worked at the dental clinic opposite ..which is just aminute away ....What a memory !!!!