Meeting Mr. Stephens Lo
Mr. Stephens Lo Wai Onn, CEO of Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital, Singapore was in town to visit and explore various healthcare organisations and hospitals. Star Lifestyle got an opportunity to ask him about his take on the healthcare sector and his hospital, Mount Elizabeth Novena.
Is this your first visit to Bangladesh? What is the purpose of your visit?
Yes it is my first time here in Bangladesh. It is an interesting place and this certainly won't be my last visit.
Did you get a chance to visit any of the hospitals here in Dhaka?
Yes; I visited United Hospital, and it was a very interesting visit. It's quite busy, and I got a chance to look into the facilities there, and I must say I was very impressed.
What do you think about the local healthcare system? What are your observations regarding the healthcare standard in Bangladesh?
I think healthcare in every country is different; the level of healthcare in every country is what its people can accept and afford as well. I think at the moment, Bangladeshi healthcare is at the best it can be. And there is always room for improvement, even in Singapore because there are various facets in healthcare that are on constant progression.
Mount Elizabeth Novena is called a state of the art hospital. Something you would like to share about your hospital?
There are a couple of things which makes it state of the art. The most obvious would be the structure. It being one of the latest and the newest hospitals in Singapore, we had the opportunity to take advantage of the most advanced thinking in hospital design and also acquire the best technology.
The other thing that is less apparent is our processes and systems. We have put in place a robust support system, where we strongly support the interaction between our doctors, nurses and caregivers - in order to provide a holistic approach to patient care, safety and comfort.
There are many patients who cannot avail private healthcare because of the price tag it comes with. Do you think it is affordable or on the expensive side?
Because it is the newest hospital, and there is always talk about the amount of money we spent on the hospital, people have this misconception that it is more expensive. I can certainly assure that we are no more expensive than some local hospitals within the country. I think its efficient use of money because we have more than 40 years of experience managing and running hospitals, equipped with the knowledge on how to create a safe environment for the patient.
Mount Elizabeth Orchard Hospital is known as a premier hospital among Bangladeshis; what differentiates Novena from the original Mount Elizabeth Hospital?
Mount Elizabeth hospitals are seen as one brand. Orchard has been here for 39 years whereas Novena is new, just about four years old. But as a whole, we complement each other very well. Being a new hospital, we had the advantage of putting in the latest ideas in terms of hospital design and equipment. What makes us stronger as a brand is that we have experienced doctors from Orchard who practices in Novena as well.
Will the Parkway hospitals group be interested or does it have any plans for opening up a hospital in Bangladesh in future?
Yes of course, if we get the right partner and the opportunity, we will.
You have graduated in Economics & Accounting from The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), but you developed your career in the healthcare industry? What made you interested to work in the healthcare industry?
It was the illness of a relative that got me into this profession. Having finished my schooling in Malaysia, I went to London, got my degree and came back and worked at various different places. The illness of that close member made me realise that there are various ways to help patients other than being a doctor or a nurse. Managing a hospital and its systems efficiently is an enormous role because it results in ensuring treatment and healthcare facilities to function in an effective manner. Thus, it got me to where I am.
You spearheaded the development of cochlear implant programme and centre for the aged and dementia in Vietnam. Something you would like to tell us about this?
I think in Vietnam, we are always looking into ways to differentiate ourselves, and really make an impact in our patients' lives. Cochlear implant was something that was not commonly done, and it's very profound - the ability to see a child regaining his sense of hearing with this implant is very rewarding.
And the centre for the aged was developed through feedback from the public that people lead very busy lifestyles, and they cannot look after their parents during the day.
By Lameya Alma Amin
Photo courtesy: Parkway Hospitals Singapore, Dhaka Office
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