History of Pharmacy Department


 

Pharmacy Department's formation takes us way back to 1957, i.e. the exact date when the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) was built. Our section was formerly known as the dispensary. Personnel known as the Dressers handled it. Only in 1968 we had a local sole graduate Mr Lawrence Wong from the Petaling Jaya training center to become our first Pharmacy Assistant (PA) in Sabah. More PAs came thereafter. At that time, all the pharmacy functions were done at the current Out Patient section. It was staffed by 3 to 4 dressers and 1 pharmacist. The first pharmacist was a lady namely, Miss Voo.  At present, the pharmacy staff have grown to about 50. In early 80’s, the Ward Pharmacy section was introduced. This was the same time when the QEH new tower block was built. Ever since then, the tower basement has been the office and centre for the QEH pharmacy. During the same period, the state Pharmaceutical Production Unit (PPU) was introduced. Services rendered were in areas such as Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN), Cytotoxic Drugs Reconstitution(CDR), Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM) and Galenical Production. 4 of the sub-units were later co-opted into the Pharmacy Department QEH. Now, the state PPU has been renamed as State Pharmacy Supply Centre (PBFN).