The History of Batu Gajah Hospital, Perak

Not long after the construction of Taiping Hospital as the first hospital in Perak, Batu Gajah Hospital was built in the same year as the opening of Taiping Hospital, which was in 1880 by the colonizers of Tanah Melayu at that time, the British.

During its heyday, Batu Gajah Hospital was a hospital with a status equivalent to a General Hospital today, and it was divided into two sections. The first section was the European Hospital, and the other was the Asian or Malay Hospital.

The European Hospital consisted of first-class wards that treated British and European government officials, estate managers, Malay Royalty, and VIPs. As for the Asian Hospital, it consisted of second and third-class wards, which were reserved for treating Malays, other civilians of Asian descent, and government officials.

Batu Gajah Hospital was built on a 55-acre plot of land on Bukit Changkat. It was built facing a beautiful and attractive green landscape. In the past, this hospital was managed by medical officers, supervisors, and nurses who were all British.

For your information, loyal readers of orangperak.com, there is an interesting fact regarding Batu Gajah Hospital that many people may not know. The first people of Asian descent to serve and be assigned to Batu Gajah Hospital were from India and Sri Lanka.

During the Japanese occupation, the Japanese army took over Batu Gajah Hospital from 1940 to 1941. They took over hospitals across Tanah Melayu entirely, including Batu Gajah Hospital, to be used as a place for torture and detention.

Taiping Hospital was introduced to X-ray scanning machine technology in 1897. After 49 years had passed, it was Batu Gajah Hospital's turn to receive this technology, and thus, an X-Ray Department was established in 1946 at Batu Gajah Hospital.

Consequently, Batu Gajah Hospital developed and became one of the best hospitals in Perak. After 1946, the British colonizers took back control of the hospital, and a training center for nurses was established in 1956.

During that era, a group of doctors trained at the King Edward VII College of Medicine, Singapore, were sent to serve at Batu Gajah Hospital. In 1976, Batu Gajah Hospital lost its status as a General Hospital after Ipoh Hospital was upgraded to a General Hospital. Today, Batu Gajah Hospital is only referred to as a District Hospital.