Materia Medica Malaysiana

District hospitals need then too

KUALA LUMPUR: The Government should provide every district hospital and small hospitals with specialised equipment like ventilators.
“There are more babies born at district hospitals and so each district should have a ventilator at least,” said Federation of Malaysian Consumer Associations (Fomca) adviser Datuk Hamdan Adnan.
He said the Government has the resources to buy these machines even if they cost about RM50,000 each.
“Since the Government could spend a lot on other things like holding celebrations and even open houses, they could afford to provide ventilators to district and small hospitals,” he said.
Hamdan was commenting on The Malay Mail’s front-page report on Monday, where a newborn at Putrajaya Hospital had to be sent 180km to the Muar Hospital for a ventilator as Putrajaya did not have a machine to spare.
The Malaysian Paediatric Association on Tuesday said that the practice of sourcing for ventilators by a Government hospital from other Government hospitals was not new.
Its president, Professor Dr Zulkifli Ismail, also dismissed the idea of sending patients from Government hospitals to private ones, as it was not feasible due to cost factor.
On this, Hamdan said hospitals should be given the power to use their discretion during critical situations.
On another aspect, Hamdan said large companies in the respective districts could fulfil their social obligations by donating a machine (to the district hospital).
The Health Ministry’s director-general Tan Sri Dr Mohamad Taha Arif could not be reached for comment.