Hospital Lam Wah Ee

The idea of setting up a community health care centre in Penang was first mooted by a few Chinese community leaders in 1876 and a fund-raising campaign was subsequently launched. A traditional-style building was completed in 1883 on a plot of land about 10,600 sq. ft. at Muntri Street. This was known as the Lam Wah Ee Hospital.

"Lam Wah" means “Chinese in the South” and “Ee” means “medicine”. Twelve community leaders were elected to be the first Board of Directors. Free consultation and medication in traditional Chinese medicine was offered to the public. Within a few years, this became very popular as a source of medical services not only to the Chinese community but also to the other communities in Penang. As a result of this, Muntri Street has since become known as “Lam Wah Ee Hospital Street”. As the demand for these services became more popular, two branch clinics were set up, one at Beach Street and the other at Magazine Road.

What Happened After The War

• After the War, another campaign was launched to collect donations for rebuilding as the traditional-style building in Muntri Street was destroyed by air raids during the War. In 1955, the present two-storey building was completed. The Beach Street branch was moved to Green Lane in order to benefit the people in the Jelutong and Green Lane areas. The Green Lane branch is situated on a piece of land donated to the Hospital by the British East India Company much earlier. This land is to become the site for the new hospital today.
• The Lam Wah Ee Hospital at first relied upon the services of experienced traditional physicians or “sinsehs” who came from China. Later a system of examinations conducted by a committee of master “sinsehs” was introduced as a selection device to maintain standards and to encourage younger people to take up the study of traditional medicine. This system is still being practised today. The top three candidates in the bi-yearly examination are automatically appointed as the official physicians of the hospital for a period of two years. These appointments have been considered as a great honour and many of the top Chinese physicians in Penang and elsewhere have originated from the Lam Wah Ee examination system.
• The three clinics offer medical services to a total of about 500 cases a day. Over the past hundred years, the number of people who have benefited from this free medical service would probably be in the millions. Throughout this period, expenses were met by income from two main sources: direct donations from the public and rents collected from anumber of properties which were donated by philanthropists or purchased by the Board of Directors and put under the trust of this charitable organisation.
• In 1959, The Board of Directors was expanded from 12 to 24 members, to be elected once every two years. This increased the representatives of the Board as well as its efficiency.
• As the Hospital is about to move into a new era with the building of a modern hospital, this brief historical account will give all of us a sense of its proud tradition as a charity hospital benefiting the sick and the needy.