Materia Medica Malaysiana

Ministry To Decentralise Expertise At Overcrowded Hospitals

KULAI, Dec 31 (Bernama) -- The government will decentralise medical expertise in major hospitals to smaller ones nearby in order to ease overcrowding.
Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek said the move would reduce the burden of major hospitals besides providing better comfort to the patients.
"We also plan to provide specialised services in hospitals near the major ones," he told reporters after visiting the district hospital here Friday.
Chua said Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL), for example, which has 2,000 beds, and the Sultanah Aminah hospital (HSA) with 900 beds were facing acute overcrowding problems.
"They do not even have room for expansion," he said.
He said the decentralisation had been carried out at the HKL. Hospitals in Selayang, Putrajaya, Serdang, Sungai Buloh and Ampang, he said, were being equipped with specialised services to take the load off HKL.
The Selayang hospital already has expertise on liver-related diseases while the Putrajaya hospital will be provided endocrine and cancer-related specialists.
The decentralisation of facilities and expertise from major hospitals to the smaller ones would be done in stages, he added.
Chua said the Kulai district hospital which is situated not far from the HSA would be upgraded to help ease the burden and overcrowding at the HSA.
"The Kulai hospital's operation ward will be upgraded under the Ninth Malaysia Plan. So far, it has carried out over 600 operations on non-high risk patients," he said.
He advised those seeking treatment for non-high risk illnesses to get it at the Kulai district hospital as it was not overcrowded.
Those seeking treatment for cancer and dialysis could go to the Sultan Ismail hospital in Pandan.
His ministry also plans to decentralise the facilities at the Ipoh hospital and upgrade those at the Batu Gajah hospital.