A group of five Japanese doctors with different specialisations started up a practice at Sun International Clinic along Monireth Boulevard in Phnom Penh in April.

Their skills can greatly improve the standard of medical treatment in Phnom Penh and will also increase the quality of life for many Cambodian patients, who no longer have to travel overseas for treatment.

Besides the five Japanese doctors, the polyclinic employs Japanese and Cambodian nurses and one Cambodian doctor.

“All Japanese doctors at Sun Clinic are talented, with many years of experience as well as strong reputations in their professions,” Son Simrong, marketing manager of the clinic said. “Also, about 80 per cent of the medicine are from Japan, the other 20 per cent from Europe.”

The clinic also uses state-of-the-art medical technology.

“The medical equipment used at Sun Clinic is new and very expensive, but also the most accurate for diagnostics.” Simrong said.

“Our X-ray machine here, for example, simultaneously sends the data to a hospital in Japan, so the doctors in Japan also help in the diagnosis with our doctors at Sun Clinic,” Simrong said. “If the diagnosis from the different hospitals is not the same, the doctors will confer until an agreement is reached.”

Simrong said that because of advanced video technology the doctors in Japan can have a face-to-face exchange in “real time”.

Yoshimori Araki MD, PhD, specialises in orthopedics and general medicine. He said that his Cambodian patients only came to the hospital when they were in serious condition.

“Our team of doctors needs time to carry out the right treatments in accordance with the standards and ethics of health science. But patients often just wish to be fixed as quickly as possible,” Araki added.

“Of course, all doctors want their patients to recover as soon as possible, but this doesn’t work outside the limits of health science.”

While excellent medical skills and equipment can greatly increase chances of recovery, they cannot work miracles.