Mobile clinics for areas that lack land for construction

Star: PAPAR: Mobile clinics will be provided at selected key urban centres such as Subang Jaya where there is a shortage of land to construct such facilities.
Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek said apart from Sabah, Sarawak and Pahang, his ministry would be providing mobile clinics in Johor and Selangor under the Ninth Malaysia Plan.
“There are many areas in Selangor that have no health clinics due to the absence of land to build these facilities, such as Subang Jaya.
“In such areas, there are poor people who need these clinics,” he said yesterday after visiting the hospital in this south-western district some 50km from Kota Kinabalu.
Each clinic will be staffed by a doctor, a nurse, a medical assistant and a pharmacy assistant.
Dr Chua said the ministry has yet to decide on the number of mobile clinics to be provided for the various states.
However, he noted that between three and five mobile clinics would be provided for remote rural villages in Sabah.
His ministry, he added, had also decided to continue its flying doctor service in the state, which cost some RM3.5mil last year.
On the provision of quarters for the medical staff here and at other hospitals, Dr Chua said the ministry would acquire them from private developers as such a move was more cost-effective.
During his visit to the Papar hospital, Dr Chua pledged RM5mil for the staff quarters there as well as RM150,000 each for a new generator set and an autoclave.