New system cuts down on waiting

The Star

12 hours ago

Staying patient: Patients and their families waiting for their turn to receive medical treatment at Hospital Sultanah Aminah. The new system will streamline the process.
JOHOR BARU: Johor's Hospital Sultanah Aminah (HSA) is set to become the first public hospital in Malaysia to adopt a RM1mil smart queue system (SQS) aimed at reducing patients' waiting time.
With the SQS, patients will no longer have to take separate queue numbers at the hospital's specialist clinics and pharmacy department.
They can obtain a queue number by scanning a QR code with their smartphone and use the same queue number for their medical needs for the day.
Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi said the SQS will begin in phases at HSA's specialist clinics before it is fully implemented by the end of the year.
'HSA sees about 2,000 patients each day, making it one of the busiest hospitals in the country.
'Once the SQS is fully implemented, we will hopefully replicate the system in other hospitals, such as Hospital Sultan Ismail and those in other districts to improve public healthcare delivery,' he said after visiting HSA here yesterday.
Johor health and environment committee chairman Ling Tian Soon explained that the SQS was developed to address high patient volume and congestion issues faced by the hospital.
'At present, patients need to take a queue number to see a specialist and then take another number to queue up for their medication, which is time consuming.
'The SQS allows patients to know the number of patients ahead of them via a smartphone app so they can move around or go for tea or toilet breaks without worrying about losing their turn,' he added.
At present, Ling said the system is being tested and that some patients have begun using it.
Onn Hafiz said the SQS was part of the state's ongoing efforts to address issues faced by the hospital, in addition to upgrading eight wards, toilets and surau facilities.
The state is working with non-governmental organisations, which had contributed new hospital beds and mattresses as well as an ambulance.
He said that Waqaf An-Nur has stationed a mobile clinic at HSA's entrance to provide additional support for the hospital's emergency and trauma department, which tends to get very busy at night and on weekends.
'They will be assisting HSA five days a week to tend to non-critical or level five cases such as fever or cough, which do not require a specialist doctor's attention.
'I have also directed Ling to station at least two additional doctors a day at the emergency and trauma department on a locum basis. I believe that can be done by next week,' he said.
When asked about the proposal for a multi-level carpark, Onn Hafiz said a value assessment study has been completed.
'I understand that funding has been secured and the value assessment has just concluded,' he said.
Aside from the current practice of parking within hospital grounds, he said patients have the alternative of parking at a free carpark at Pantai Lido, across the road from the hospital.
Previously, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced an allocation of RM500mil for first phase upgrades of the hospital on Sept 4, 2023.
Among the proposed upgrades include the construction of a polyclinic and multi-storey car park to address hospital congestion.