Controversial doc opens sch

Dr Richner has set up five children's hospitals in Cambodia.

-- PHOTO: WWW.BEAT-RICHNER.CH

THE STRAITS TIMES

Dec 30, 2008

By Ben Bland , FOR THE STRAITS TIMES

SIEM REAP: - A controversial Swiss doctor who has frequently clashed with international health experts is continuing his fight to bring world-class healthcare to Cambodia's children by setting up an academy to train doctors and pouring additional millions into one of his hospitals.

Dr Beat Richner, who has set up five children's hospitals in Cambodia with funds from private donors, has built a new wing at his hospital in Siem Reap, close to the renowned temples at Angkor Wat, to solve a chronic shortage of beds. He refuses to turn patients away and many children are currently treated on mats on the floor.

The US$12 million (S$17 million) extension, which incorporates a state-of-the-art MRI scanner as well as 200 extra beds, is being launched today, alongside a new academy to train young doctors who are keen to pursue similar humanitarian projects.

The opening ceremony is being presided over by King Norodom Sihamoni, who has been a strong supporter of Dr Richner's work ever since he set up his first hospital in Phnom Penh in 1992.

The Kantha Bopha hospitals provide free treatment to 85 per cent of all sick children in Cambodia and Dr Richner claims that his foundation saves 90,000 lives a year.

An accomplished cellist, he plays twice-weekly fund-raising concerts at his Siem Reap hospital to tourists visiting the Angkor Wat temples.

His hospitals cost US$25 million a year to run and most of the funding is from private donors. Many of his backers are in Switzerland, where he is something of a celebrity. The Cambodian and Swiss governments also contribute 16 per cent of his annual budget.

However, his methods have brought him into conflict with international health groups such as the World Health Organisation. They argue that reliance on individual foreign donors and use of expensive equipment and drugs make his approach unsustainable.

They say efforts to improve Cambodian health standards should focus on state-run hospitals and the promotion of basic health care and hygiene.

The Kantha Bopha Academy of Pediatrics, which will hold its first six-month course in July next year, is being launched in part as a response to these criticisms.

'They say we are not sustainable but I want to help train the next generation of doctors so we can have more Kantha Bophas around the world,' said Dr Richner.

By avoiding corruption and using international-standard technology, he insists that his approach has provided economically efficient and medically correct health care.

The academy is aimed at 'promoting this positive experience and creative know-how to other parts of the world with similar conditions and needs', he added.

Although the academy will be open to all fully qualified physicians, the focus will be on training young doctors from developing nations in South-east Asia, Africa and other parts of the world.

The fees are likely to be subsidised for those who cannot to afford to pay. Courses will be run by doctors from the Kantha Bopha hospitals as well as visiting professors from Switzerland.

Dr Richner first worked in Cambodia in 1974 but was forced to flee when the murderous Khmer Rouge took control of the country in 1975. He returned in 1991 to rebuild the main children's hospital in Phnom Penh at the request of former king Norodom Sihanouk.