Specialist centre to start operating on Jan 1, but minus some major services

Star: KUCHING: A long-delayed public specialist hospital in Samarahan will open by Jan 1, but without some major services that were planned initially.
A well-placed source said the facility would begin operations with heart care only, despite high-tech cancer care equipment already being installed at the facility, formerly known as the Sarawak International Medical Centre.
“At this point, all we know is that cancer care will have to wait. We hope cancer services will be included eventually,” said the source, who asked not to be named.
In June, Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan confirmed talk that the facility, which had never been used, would be converted and renamed the Sarawak Heart and Cancer Hospital.
According to several sources, no clear explanation had been given by the Health Ministry over its sudden back-tracking of planned services for the hospital.
One speculation, the source said, was that the Health Ministry was unsure about spending large amounts of money to operate and run a cancer centre in Sarawak, where specialists were scarce.
“It seems we may have to prove our capabilities first, before the original plan can be implemented. In fact, the ministry’s indecision is actually in line with the Economic Transformation Plan. They are calling for track record before spending,” said the source.
The hospital, which is about 20 minutes drive from Kuching city, has long been in the limelight, mostly for the wrong reasons.
It began construction in 2003 but the project was never completed.
The facility, owned by the state government under Sarawak Specialist Hospital & Medical Centre Sdn Bhd, was planned as a top-end private hospital, which could also do research.
Initially, US-based Mayo Clinic was hired as a consultant, but not long after the building started, the non-profit organisation pulled out. No reason was given.
For almost half a decade, the project was left idle and vacant, until the announcement of the turnaround plan earlier this year.
For now, the facility remains a construction site. Two weeks ago, the Association for Wives of Ministers, Assistant Ministers and Assemblymen (Sabati) visited the facility.
What they saw were buildings being cleaned and decontaminated, while cracked walls were fixed and mouldy ceiling boards changed.
It was understood that a few people closely related to the project were trying to get the association to fund minor projects for the hospital, like converting an existing site office into a half-way house.
Association members were brought to see for themselves the best and worst aspects of the facility.
They saw the linear accelerator – a room-sized device used to pinpoint cancer cells – that had been installed, but were told cancer services might not be available.
“Although there are signboards listing cancer services everywhere, the final decision on whether cancer care would be offered will only be made in the coming weeks,” said another personnel.
With plans up in the air again, even the name of the hospital cannot be finalised.
Meanwhile, National Heart Association Malaysia president Prof Dr Sim Kui Hian, said he was aware of the situation.
“We will begin with the Cardiac Unit first. We are already in the process of moving,” he said.
Dr Sim, who heads the Cardiac Unit at the Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) in Kuching, said he preferred not to speculate on the cancer facilities.
“Whatever happens, the heart unit will be operational no later than Jan 1,” he said.
The hospital would be the first new public medical facility in Kuching since Sarawak General Hospital opened in 1910, he said.
“For us to have gone this far in a few months since the turnaround plan was announced is itself quite an achievement,” Dr Sim added.
However, he said Sarawakians deserved better healthcare.
“There are still too many patients waiting for beds in SGH. The hospital bed-population ratio in Kuching must be improved,” he said.