Materia Medica Malaysiana

Financial jab for Klang hospital

KLANG: The faulty air-conditioning at Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital here has been repaired and the Government has pumped in money to ensure that equipment there will be in tip-top condition.

Following The Star report yesterday on the disruption of services at the hospital, the Health Ministry immediately approved RM90,000 for the purchase of 27 split air-conditioners.

These will be installed in all the critical units.

In addition, the hospital will be given RM13mil for mechanical and electrical repairs, Deputy Health Minister Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad said after launching the Hospital Support Services Standards and Eastwood Park Malaysia Training Academy at the Westin Hotel in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

“Our officials are negotiating with the Finance Ministry to see if we can do it on a negotiated tender basis rather than open tender, as otherwise it will take at least 90 to 100 days before things can be corrected,” he said.

The Star reported that faulty air-conditioning had disrupted services at the hospital, which has the country’s second busiest emergency ward.

All elective surgeries have been postponed at the hospital, which schedules about 20 such operations daily.

Dr Abdul Latiff said preventive maintenance had been carried out at the hospital, adding that breakdowns were unpredictable.

Selangor state executive councillor in charge of health, Datuk Dr Lim Thuang Seng, said the RM13mil was for replacing the ageing air-conditioning system, upgrading the oxidation pond and overhauling the wiring system.

The air-conditioning started working again at 12.15am yesterday after round-the-clock repairs.

“Let this be a reminder to all hospitals in Selangor to be vigilant in inspecting and maintaining their infrastructure,” said Dr Lim, who visited the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital with Health Ministry deputy director-general (medical) Datuk Dr Abdul Gani Mohd Din.

He said the air-conditioners would be installed in critical areas like the emergency ward, elective surgery unit, intensive care unit and the neo-natal intensive care units.

The breakdown of the air-conditioning system over the weekend is said to be the worst since the system started giving problems in 2002.

A team from Radicare worked round the clock to fix the system.