Dr Annuar: Access to healthcare facilities should not be based just on population

So we have to be careful when looking at hospital beds and population ratio. Otherwise not all would get proper health service.

Dr Annuar Rapaee

SIBU: The government’s plan to increase the capacity of hospitals to reach the ratio of 2.06 beds per 1,000 citizens by 2025 might not be feasible in Sarawak, said Assistant Minister of Local Government and Housing Dr Annuar Rapaee.

He opined that good health service in the state should be based on how easily people could access health facilities, and not just on population.

“If upgrading of clinics and other health services are based on population, it would affect the people. The population in rural Sarawak is decreasing due to rural-urban migration and it would mean certain areas might not enjoy the services of doctors.

“So we have to be careful when looking at hospital beds and population ratio. Otherwise, not all would get proper health service,” he told reporters via Zoom yesterday.

Dr Annuar was commenting on the third area of focus on improving the wellbeing of ‘Keluarga Malaysia’ under the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP), announced by the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob yesterday.

Dr Annuar, who is also Assistant Minister of Education, Science and Technological Research, welcomed the move to build and upgrade health clinics nationwide in closing the gap between rural and urban health facilities. He said many rural health clinics in Sarawak were located far away and lack facilities.

“As long as there are people, there must be at least doctors, Xray machines and a laboratory. Only then would everybody enjoy inclusive shared prosperity,” he stated, adding that rural folk should not have to make costly long trips to the nearest health facility and wait two to three months to get X-ray results when urbanites could get such results in just one day.

“Though Sarawak’s population is scattered and the rural population is low, the people should have equal and easy access to proper healthcare facilities,” he added.