Better hospital upkeep sought

Star: PETALING JAYA: Dissatisfied over the quality of maintenance at government hospitals, Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai has directed that red tape be cut for remedial steps to be carried out much faster.
“We can put in the infrastructure, but after that there is no follow through with the maintenance,” he said yesterday in an interview.
“I want the red tape to be reduced. The monitoring system needs to be more effective so that it does not take so much time to get things done. It is also up to the people in charge to respond faster.”
Liow highlighted instances where the air-conditioning at some premises was not working and it took a long time for it to be repaired.
“It is because of all this bureaucracy they end up 'sitting on things'. And it is certainly not good for hospitals if they have insufficient air conditioning,” he said.
He also said problems such as the leakage at the Alor Star Hospital had yet to be resolved.
“We have good hospitals but things are not functioning,” he said.
He also said private companies that had the contract to provide non-clinical hospital support services should enhance their monitoring procedures.
“They need to do things without having to be directed. They are the contract providers and should do the monitoring in the first place,” he added.
Among the problems highlighted in the press were the temporary closure of the neo-natal intensive care unit at the RM450mil Sultan Abdul Halim Hospital in Kedah because of overflowing faeces from a toilet and fungi infestation on its ceiling; leaking sewage pipes at the Ampang Hospital; and faulty air-conditioning system at the Sultan Ismail Hospital in Johor Baru that caused fungus growth on the walls and in some of the clinical equipment.
Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, which that comes under the Higher Education Ministry, also had to close 10 of its operating theatres because of contamination due to a leak in its sterilisation network.
Liow appealed to those visiting hospitals not to vandalise facilities because everyone had to play their part in maintaining them.