The Taiping Hospital, or General Hospital of Taiping, was started as Yeng Wah, the Chinese Pauper Hospital, to provide medical care for the indenture labourers working the mining fields of Taiping. It was spearheaded by leading members of the mining community in the 1880's, following an outbreak of beri-beri among the mining coolies. The labourers were charged an annual fee of 50 cents. It worked very well for the first six months, and then it became increasingly difficult to collect the fee from the mining labourers. Nevertheless, the hospital was able to improve the well being of the mining labourers, resulting in a decline in the death rate among them.
The hospital struck a first on 3 Feb 1896, by being the first hospital in Malaya to be installed with an X-ray machine. It was reported in the newspaper that during the opening ceremony, the apparatus was tried out on its first "patient", a pomfret (bawal putih).
Taiping Hospital is where my nanny died. She was 81 years old. By that time, she has left my mother's employment for about a year and was enjoying her retirement. Her nephew had taken her to Taiping to visit relatives. The journey (at that time, there was no North South Expressway) must have been too taxing for her, as she fell violently ill on her arrival in Taiping. When news reached us in Penang, my mother brought me and another of nanny's relatives to visit her in the Taiping Hospital. Unfortunately by the time we arrived she has died. It was the first time I ever saw a dead person, and one whom I loved very much, for she looked after me when I was growing up. At that time I was only 7 or 8 years old, but I remember the trip to Taiping, to this very day.
Taiping Travel Guide
Explore the places of interest in Taiping with AsiaExplorers. Click enter to view list.
About the Author: AsiaExplorers is researched and written by Timothy Tye. We take reasonable care to check and verify the accuracy of the content. However, we disclaim any responsibility for any inconvenience, mishap, injury or death resulting from following the advice provided directly or indirectly by AsiaExplorers and the comments on its pages. All the photographs in AsiaExplorers are available for publication. Please contact AsiaExplorers at the following email address for your enquiries:
