Materia Medica Malaysiana

What Ails Kinrara Hospital?

Millions spent on highly-trainedmedical specialists and equipmentare going to waste at the 54-year-old 95 Kinrara Armed Forces Hospital in Puchong in view of its impendingclosure.The Malay Mail learnt that several of the specialist clinics in the nation’s oldest military hospitalare almost non-functional due to the premature ‘phasing out’ of theirservices.It is also learnt that the hospital will be closed and replaced by a new hospital under construction in Genting Klang which is scheduled to be completed in June 2006.Sources said that with the phasingout of services which began a year ago, patients seeking treatment at the hospital are now referred to thealready congested University MalayaMedical Centre (UMMC), Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia(HUKM) or Kuala Lumpur Hospital should they require more specialised treatment.As a result, the skills of the specialists at Kinrara hospital, who were trained at a cost of between RM6million and RM8 million per person by the Armed Forces, are practically under-utilised.It is learnt that the hospital has some of the best medical equipment and facilities which even other Government hospitals do not have. The hospital was also a training ground for medical personnel of the ArmedForces.“It is such a waste of talent because despite having some of the best medical facilities in the country,these highly-qualified doctors are forced to provide minimal treatment which ordinary GPs (general practitioners) can perform.“For example, they have two fully equipped OTs (operating theatres) in the hospital where major surgeries can be performed, but they are onlyused to perform minor surgeries suchas circumcision, dressing and plastering.“In some departments, the medical officers and ancilliary staff have practically no work to do and theyare so demoralised that many haveleft the service, or are contemplating leaving,” said one source.The hospital, which caters to ArmedForces personnel, ex-servicemen and the public in Puchong area, used tooperate like a full-fledged public hospital with a 24-hour emergency department and a staff strength of about 180.Now, the entire facility, includingthe emergency department, operatesfrom 8am to 4.30pm only.The hospital, which used to attend to about 200 patients a day, now only sees about 50 a day due to the phasingout of services.“Although they have a fully equipped maternity clinic, and an obstretician and gynaecologist onduty, they have stopped delivering babies,” the source said.“Expectant mothers just come for normal check-ups and are referred to other hospitals for delivery. In effect, some of the staff are being paid to do almost nothing. It is very demoralising, given their expertise.”And because the hospital has become almost non-functional for the treatment of major cases, some of its specialists have been transferredout.It is learnt that one of the two anaesthetists at the hospital has been transferred to a non-medical unit at the Terendak Camp in SungaiUdang, Malacca, where he has beenassigned to administrative duties.What is more worrying is that the staff have been verbally informed that the Kinrara hospital will stop operations by Aug 1.The move to close down the Kinrara hospital is believed to facilitate the sale of the land to a private developer to the tune of about RM200 million.It is also learnt that under the deal,the proceeds from the land sale was to be pumped into the new Genting Klang Hospital.However, it is learnt that work on the Genting Klang hospital stopped on May 1 due to funding problems.“Why the hurry? Is it because the property has already been sold to the private company?” asked a source.“Why do they want to close it down so fast, especially after spending several million ringgit a couple of years ago to refurbish the hospital?”

Source: http://www.emedia.com.my