Tawau Health Office identifying shoplot for clinic

THE Tawau Health Office is in the midst of identifying a shoplot whilst mulling the construction of a new Tanjung Batu Clinic at the district’s old airport, revealed Health and People’s Wellbeing Minister in-charge Datuk Frankie Poon Ming Fung.

In reply to Tanjung Batu state assemblywoman Datuk Hamisa Samat at Dewan yesterday, Poon said the clinic’s current 0.2 acres site had been fully utilized and does not have space for expansion.

“As a short term measure, the Tawau Health Office is identifying a shoplot with a suitable space to rent to accommodate the service,” he said when delivering the ministry’s winding-up speech during the Sabah State Legislative Assembly sitting in Likas yesterday.

“However, it is recommended that part of Tawau’s old airport site be used to build a Tawau Health Clinic Health 2, to replace the tight-spaced Tanjung Batu Clinic.

Hamisa stressed the clinic’s current space cannot accommodate the current population that had increased in the area.

In terms of patient appointments, Poon said the frequency given to patients was on a case-too-case basis according to the situation and disease dealt with after a doctor’s professional assessment.

“For information, overly frequent appointments and small gaps of follow-ups are meaningless and will make it difficult for patients if it is not necessary,” he emphasized.

Poon also told Hamisa that the ministry’s Sabah State General Welfare Department does not provide special assistance to single mothers.

However, he added the Sabah General Welfare Services Department had, up to April 2019, spent RM2,195,510 to assist 2,229 orphans and used RM8,431,000 to help 6791 children in Sabah.

“In Tawau alone, the total number of Bantuan Anak Yatim recipients are 388 with an expense of RM98,350 up to April 2019. Meanwhile, the number of recipients of the children’s aid is 503 with an expense of RM145,000 up to April 2019,” he told Dewan.

Majority of TB patients are M'sians — Poon

THE majority of the tuberculosis (TB) patients are Malaysians in Sabah, disclosed Health and People’s Wellbeing minister incharge, Datuk Frankie Poon Ming Fung.

In response to Usukan assemblyman, Datuk Japlin Akim, Poon told the Dewan yesterday that Sabah’s overall detected TB cases are 5,008, 31.11% or 1,558 cases involved foreigners last year.

Meanwhile, he said, 327 cases, 36.17%, out of an overall 904 in Kota Kinabalu are foreigners.

“Thus, the majority of TB cases are found among citizens. My ministry through the Sabah Health Department has been and will continue to curb the transmission of the TB disease among the public by implementing various control programs, including the health examination of foreign workers by the Growarisan doctors panel.

“Last year, a report from Growarisan showed that 137,239 foreign workers entering the country had undergone a screening of infectious diseases, including TB screening through chest Xrays. If a confirmed foreign worker is unwell, they must be sent back to their home country,” he added.

Poon also said that the X-ray Mobile Service offers services to TB hot spot localities, such as the prisons, temporary detention centres, Cure and Care Rehabilitation Centre (CCRC) with a high TB notification rate of more than 100 cases for every 100,000 residents, throughout Sabah.