Govt hospitals to soon have daycare centres for employees

PUTRAJAYA: All government hospitals and medical institutions will soon have a daycare centre, or creche, to take care of their employees’ babies.

However, the creche is only for babies of up to six months old, said Health Minister Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad yesterday.

“We decided on this as we want to ensure that the tragic loss of one of our colleagues will not happen again.

“We are deeply saddened by the incident and I am very determined to provide the best possible working environment for staff,” he said, adding that the creche was an effort to provide staff with peace of mind.

Dr Dzulkefly was addressing the staff of Putrajaya Hospital at its Hari Raya open house yesterday.

He was referring to the death of fivemonthold Adam Rayqal Mohd Sufi, who was found in a refrigerator at his babysitter’s house in Kampung Nakhoda, Gombak on Tuesday.

Adam Rayqal’s mother, who works as a nurse at Hospital Kuala Lumpur, was on duty when his remains were brought in for a postmortem.

Speaking to reporters later, Dr Dzulkefly said he hoped the facility would be ready by the end of the year.

“We need to carry out some renovation and more importantly, ensure that the creche fully complies with all regulations pertaining to baby daycare services.

“It will also be a 24hour creche because our staff work roundtheclock,” he said.

Dr Dzulkefly added that the creche would be modelled after a similar facility at the Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital in Kuantan.

Out of the 144 hospitals and medical institutions in the country, 35 are equipped with childcare centres, he said.