Tanjung Rambutan, Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta

Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta (HBUK) at Tanjung Rambutan in Perak is a well known mental health hospital and the biggest in Malaysia.

It is located on 544 acre at Tanjung Rambutan, north of Ipoh, and is often known as the Tanjung Rambutan Hospital or Happy Hospital.

The hospital was founded in 1910 and was originally called Federal Lunatic Asylum. In those days it had 3 male wards and 1 for females.

In 1928 it was renamed as the Central Mental Hospital. In the early 1970s the name was again changed, to Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta. This was to give a more positive name by removing the image of a mental asylum, and to promote its role as the centre for psychiatric treatment.

The road system around the complex covers 2 km.

Being taken away!
Entrance to kitchen

The kitchen (above)
The old store -

Toilet with a house number
Main area

Store area

One of many ambulances

There are 54 male wards and 25 female, housing over 2000 inmates. These include the less secure farm wards, and 28 more secure wards inside the main complex. The current patient numbers are 1914 male, 500 female. There is a large canteen to feed them.

The Forensic ward is isolated and very secure, inmates are there by court order. Once they are charged they are moved to another forensic ward. Opposite this is an old green building, dating to the 1950s.

secure forensic area (above)

high security

and a guard

Considering the hospital is 100 years old, very few of the old buildings remain. The store and kitchen are amongst the oldest, as well as the green building and the red doctor's house.

Doctor's house

forensic ward

The patients who are relatively stable are allowed to move around, work on the farm and nurseries etc. Some run 'sugar cane corner' where fresh drinks are served, others operate a car wash. We met some of those in Wad Kebun. Others live in individual apartment blocks -

There is a cemetery. Also the Life Science College (Kolej Sains Kesihatan Bersekutu) occupies part of the grounds. This is a nursing college -

Back of the ashrama -

The hospital offers psychiatric training to staff and medical students. The main objective of the hospital is to provide psychiatric treatment rather than simply to house those with mental disorders.

Today Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta is the biggest of 4 pyschiatric institutions in Malaysia. It is located across the railway line from the town of Tanjung Rambutan.

I was surprised at the large number of ambulances and vehicles belonging to the hospital.

Hospital Bahagia is celebrating its 100 years in Nov 2011.

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UPDATE
Just one week after our visit, a patient was murdered by another.

© Liz Price
No reproduction without permission