KL Hospital to get RM1.5bil facelift

Star: KUALA LUMPUR: The Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL) will be redeveloped under a RM1.5bil facelift programme to transform it to the country’s best medical and healthcare facility.
The redevelopment – slated under the Ninth Malaysia Plan – would focus on specific specialised medical and health disciplines, said hospital director Datuk Dr Zaininah Mohd Zain.
Under the plan, the number of hospital beds would be halved to 1,200 from the current 2,400 to allocate more funds to specialised expertise and professional services.
Dr Zaininah said that basically, the hospital would have a spanking new premises without having to relocate to another place.
She said the facelift would be implemented in stages.
Speaking to reporters after receiving Raya goodies from the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Council yesterday, Dr Zaininah said the hospital treated about a million patients last year, of whom 380,000 were outpatients.
Meanwhile, the council has allocated more than RM2mil this year to provide medical equipment and financial aid to patients at HKL, University Malaya Medical Centre and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Hospital in Cheras.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Dr Abdullah Md Zin said the council extended the aid during Ramadan every year.
Abdullah, who is the council’s chairman, handed RM250,000 to the HKL Hospital Welfare Fund and medical equipment worth about RM96,300.