Ministry looking into rebuilding or relocating Jalan Oya Health Clinic

SIBU: The Ministry of Health (MoH) is looking into possibly rebuilding or relocating the Jalan Oya Health Clinic

Deputy Health Minister Datuk Lukanisman Awang Sauni said these were among the proposals submitted by the Sibu Health Office, and would be a long-term plan to address issues faced by the clinic.

“The Public Works Department (JKR) has inspected the clinic’s building, and the structure can be said to be quite unsafe.

“I can also see there are a few cracks, but operations are still ongoing.

“At the moment, I can also see the Jalan Oya Health Clinic is coping with the increased number of patients with the average capacity of 1,000 patients (per day) and with this, there is definitely a need to upgrade this clinic to at least a Type 2 health clinic,” he told reporters during his visit to the clinic yesterday.

He said he he would also bring these suggestions to the state Health Department.

“Since the Jalan Oya Health Clinic is situated right in the middle of Sibu town, we cannot deny Sibu is developing rapidly and despite having to cater to the needs of so many patients, they can still provide good services.”

As for the approved land in Teku for the construction of a health clinic, Lukanisman said it was not suitable as a relocation site for the Jalan Oya Clinic.

“We cannot just simply relocate it to Teku because of the distance. We have a formula to count the distance, and we do not want to create any surprise or pressure if we simply relocate the clinic to Teku,” he said, pointing out there were a few more better options but those would need cooperation with the Finance Ministry.

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister II for Public Health, Housing and Local Government Sarawak Datuk Michael Tiang said the JKR had studied the possibility of expanding the road leading to Sibu Hospital to resolve traffic issues.

Also present were Bukit Assek assemblyman Joseph Chieng, Sibu Health Officer Dr Teh Jo Hun and Sibu Hospital director Dr Nanthakumar Thirunavukkarasu.