October date for hospital

Star: KUALA LUMPUR: The RM880mil Sungai Buloh Hospital will open in October, said Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek.
He said the hospital with 620 beds, 32 hospital wards and 22 operation theatres would specialise in traumathology and infectious diseases, besides providing common medical treatment.
The Public Works Department, he added, would hand over the Certificate of Fitness for the hospital to the Health Department today.
“The Government has built five new hospitals within three years to ease congestion at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital,” he said.
Apart from the Sungai Buloh Hospital, the other four hospitals are in Serdang, Putrajaya, Selayang and Ampang.
He said the hospitals, with a total 2,800 beds, would each specialise in a particular field of medicine, besides providing normal medical treatment to patients.
Putrajaya Hospital would eventually specialise in endocrinology, thyroid and cancer treatment; Selayang in liver, eyes and hands surgery; Serdang in urology, nephrology, cardiology and cardio thoracic surgery and Ampang in hematology.
“KL Hospital will specialise in paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology,” he told reporters after closing a three-day floral festivalin Sungai Buloh yesterday.

On another matter, Dr Chua said the ministry would also upgrade the National Leprosy Control Centre in Sungai Buloh.
“There are now 312 leprosy patients, 90% of them over 60 years old. Most said they did not have visitors other than hospital staff and volunteers from non-governmental organisations.”
He said about 1,500 patients were abandoned at government hospitals annually by their families who provided false information such as their home address.
“Usually, they are mentally ill or HIV patients. Their families just abandon them in hospitals and leave the responsibility to the Government.
“This does not reflect a caring society,” he said, adding that the Government was able to trace the home addresses of some patients.