Miri Hospital to have its own brain surgeon soon — MP
MIRI: Miri Hospital will have its own brain surgeon soon – thanks to Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
According to Miri MP Dr Michael Teo, the availability of a brain surgeon is critical for patients in need of this service in the northern region in Sarawak.
It is known that currently, local cases that need neurosurgery would have to be referred to the specialists in Kuching, Sabah or Brunei .
In his tabling of the ‘Mid-Term Review of the 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP) 2016-2020’ in Parliament on Thursday, Dr Mahathir said in terms of health facilities, three hospitals – those in Papar, Miri and Lawas – would be upgraded.
In this respect, Dr Teo said the announcement reflected the prime minister’s understanding about the urgent need to have these hospital projects.
“Dr Mahathir, as a doctor, understands how desperately we need them (doctors) so that we do not need to queue up at 4am at the polyclinic, rush comatose patients to Brunei, or fly them via helicopter to Kuching,” he said.Miri Hospital is regarded as a main referral hospital in the northern region of Sarawak, serving a population of about 1.5 million people coming not just from Miri, but also from Limbang, Lawas, Marudi, Ulu Baram, Niah, Sibuti, Bekenu, Suai, Long Lama, Ba Kelalan and Bario.
Lawas Hospital is a nonspecialist district hospital providing outpatient and inpatient services. It is known that certain patients from Lawas would be referred to hospitals in Sabah should the need arise. Works Minister Baru Bian, who is Selangau MP and also Ba Kelalan assemblyman, had in July this year urged the Ministry of Health (MoH) to take immediate measures in solving the delays that had been plaguing the new Lawas Hospital project since 2011.
According to him, Lawas residents are in dire need of good hospital facilities because they are forced to spend so much on sending sick family members to Miri Hospital – it is known that there had been patients who died during such journey.
Moreover, Deputy Chief Minister III Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan had repeatedly called upon the previous and present federal governments to let the second phase of the project take off without any more delays for the sake of the people in the district.
In his earlier remarks, Dr Teo called upon the MoH to push for the proposed RM70-million new public health centre for Miri, saying that this would address the congestion issue at Miri Hospital, Miri Polyclinic and Mother- Child Health Clinic at Jalan Temenggong Datuk Oyong Lawai Jau.
He also mentioned a land of 8.5 acres at the Tanjong Lobang area, deemed to be a suitable site for the centre, which is said to be a seven-storey building where the polyclinic would be on the ground floor, with the Department of Health office, a dental clinic and a hospital occupying the remaining levels.