Number of specialists, doctors to be increased — Dr Hilmi
MIRI: The Ministry of Health (MOH) will increase the number of specialists and doctors gradually to accommodate the needs of patients in the state.
Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya, who stated this, said up to 4,800 experts had been stationed in all hospitals in the country, including Sabah and Sarawak.
“We have also required the newly trained doctors to be stationed in Sabah and Sarawak and this involves 600 specialists and doctors,” he said at a press conference here yesterday.
Dr Hilmi said three main hospitals in Sarawak; namely Sarawak General Hospital, Sibu Hospital and Miri Hospital already had their own specialist doctors.
“We are aware of the shortage of specialists around the country, so the ministry is constantly working to increase the number of specialists gradually,” he stated.
He said Miri has 15 major specialist doctors while the rest are minor specialists.
However, he said the facilities at the Miri Hospital needed to be upgraded.
“We have planned for an additional block with 324 beds as the number of patients here is growing,” he said.
Besides that, the ministry, he added, planned to upgrade clinic facilities in Sarawak’s rural areas, including clinics that are already obsolete and dilapidated.
“All wood-based clinics will be upgraded so that they can offer better and safer services for pregnant women, mothers and children and outpatients,” he said.
Earlier, Hilmi attended the ‘ Majlis Ramah Mesra’ with members of the northern zone hospital visitors board and health clinic advisory panel ( PPKK) at a hotel here.
At the event, five hospitals ( Miri, Bintulu, Marudi, Limbang and Lawas hospitals) received RM10,000 each and 40 clinics each received RM5,000 for their PPKK activities.
PPKK was launched in 1995 to foster closer collaboration between the community and healthcare professionals in health facilities, in order to improve the health of the local community.
Almost 90 per cent of health clinics nationwide have set up PPKK with a membership of 14,665 based at 856 health clinics.
Also present were state deputy director ( Medical) Dr Kamarudin Lajim, state deputy director ( Public Health) Dr Nordin Salleh and organising chairpersons Dr Veronica Lugah and Dr Jack Wong Siew Yu.