Ministry to get remaining RM13.28 mln for QEH1
KOTA KINABALU: The Federal Health Ministry will look into the prompt release of the remaining RM13.28 million budget that was previously approved and allocated for the implementation of Queen Elizabeth Hospital 1 (QEH1) Twin Towers project.
Health Minister Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said QEH1 is currently in need of the budget to address some the issues the hospital is currently facing.
He also said that he would look into the request to acquire brand new ambulances for QEH1 as some of the hospital’s ambulances had been in use for more than 10 years now.
Dr Dzulkefly, who spoke to reporters during his visit to QEH1 on Wednesday, added that he will also look into the parking issue at QEH1.
One other issue that QEH1 currently faces is the fact that it does not have its own kitchen facility. It is understood that QEH1 is currently acquiring its food source from QEH2, which is located in Damai, Luyang.
Prior to his visit to QEH1, Dr Dzulkefly had visited the Putatan Health Clinic and identified a few issues there.
“I have observed several facilities (in the Putatan Health Clinic), such as its machines and equipment, and I found out that there are no Full Blood Count (FBC) machines that are functioning. The first machine was damaged since a year ago and another was damaged since April 2018. All full blood counts samples are currently brought to the Penampang Health Clinic, and it takes approximately 24 hours to obtain findings and results. This could certainly be disruptive,” he said.
Dr Dzulkefly also found out that the Putatan Health Clinic’s biochemistry tests could at times be delayed up to a week and that such delay must be addressed as it could affect the patients’ medical treatment.
However, he was pleased to see that the Putatan Health Clinic’s ceiling, which was damaged earlier this year, had been repaired and he hoped that such issue would not recur in the future.
He urged the clinic to maintain the practice of being proactive and pre-emptive in its management, adding that the hospital must adopt the ‘anticipative thinking’ mentality.
Dr Dzulkefly also said that he would be addressing the issue of the damaged air-conditioners in the Putatan Health Clinic and he would be using approximately RM20,000 from his own allocation to resolve the matter.
He said the number of patients in the clinic’s maternal and child healthcare section had reached an average of 250 patients per day. Thus, there is a need for a bigger facility to prevent the overload of patients.
Also present was State Health and People’s Well-being Minister Stephen Wong.