Kingdom’s First Neuroscience Center Opens

• 31 December 2015
• Local News
• 1070 Views

Cambodia’s first ever neuroscience center, located inside Calmette Hospital, was inaugurated in early October by His Majesty the King Norodom Sihamoni and Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Costing US$10.8 million to build and equip, construction on the 45×30-meter six-floor National Neurology Center began in June 2012, with US$4.5 million financed by the Cambodian government. In addition, contractor Ly Chhoung Construction waived nearly US$0.6 million to cover the additional labor fee.

Another US$5 million was contributed for construction technical support, furniture, medical equipment and human resource training by La Chaîne de l’Espoir the French health NGO that initiated the project (US$4 million), GE Foundation (US$1 million), and Calmette Hospital itself (US$0.75 million).

The medical center includes 90 beds for patients requiring neurological surgery and related medical care, as well as four operating theaters, eight consultation rooms, and a research laboratory. Specialists at the National Neurology Center will be able to treat a number of medical conditions, including brain tumors, back pain, strokes, and brain injuries from motor vehicle accidents, of which there are more and more in Cambodia.

“Neuro-medicine and neuro-surgery are urgently needed by Cambodian patients because there are an estimated annual 22,000 patients with hemiplegia, 3,000 patients with brain tumors, and 12,000 patients with disc hernias including those suffered by accidents”, said H.E. Mam Bunheng, Minister of Health, at the inauguration ceremony.

Health specialists and NGOs hope the new medical center will help reduce complex [neurological] diseases and curb local patients seeking medical services abroad.

Last month, U.S. conglomerate General Electric donated more than US$1 million worth of medical equipment to the center. King Sihamoni also donated US$10,000 to the center.

Calmette Hospital is one of the oldest hospitals in Cambodia. It was founded from 1958-1960. Currently, the hospital has 1,242 employees.