6 days ago
Existing hospital enough for Sandakan, says Health Minister
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad speaking to reporters during his working visit to the Duchess of Kent Hospital in Sandakan.
SANDAKAN: Despite repeated calls for a new hospital to address overcrowding at the only hospital in Sandakan, the Health Minister says there is no need for one here.
Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said the existing Hospital Duchess of Kent, with a planned new block of about 594 beds, would be sufficient to meet the district's healthcare needs and ease congestion.
Dzulkefly praised the hospital for adopting innovative measures, including moving minor surgeries and some specialist services to health clinics, to reduce the patient load on existing facilities.
'We already have plans to build a new block. We do not want to have hospitals without specialists. We want to develop facilities that can truly deliver specialist care.
'Rather than building small hospitals, we want to strengthen existing ones by increasing specialist capacity, while relocating certain services to health clinics to manage congestion,' he told reporters during his working visit to Hospital Duchess of Kent on Tuesday (Aug 12).
Also present were Sandakan MP Vivian Wong Shir Yee and Hospital Duchess of Kent director Dr Mohd Fahmie Othman.
His comments came in response to repeated calls by Libaran MP Datuk Suhaimi Nasir for a new hospital in the constituency.
Suhaimi, on several occasions, has urged the government to expedite construction of the long-delayed Rancangan Sungai Manila Hospital.
Several elected reps here had urged for better healthcare service in Sandakan, saying Hospital Duchess of Kent is operating beyond its intended capacity.
They stressed that the hospital is struggling to cope not only with Sandakan's population but also with patients from other districts such as Beluran, Telupid and Kinabatangan.
Sandakan also does not have a private hospital, which makes the situation even more challenging.
Dzulkefly said his visit to six districts in Sabah, covering 22 health facilities, showed that shifting some services to health clinics was a good approach to easing congestion at main hospitals.
'That is why we must strengthen all health clinics. From a policy perspective, we aim to build stronger facilities and consolidate them where possible,' he said.
He also announced an allocation of RM1.055mil for minor works at Hospital Duchess of Kent, including upgrades to operating theatres, medical and non-medical assets to improve patient comfort.
