SABAH Progressive Party (SAPP) wants Health Minister, Dato’ Dr Liow Tiong Lai to keep his word this time that healthcare issue in Sabah, particularly in the State Capital will be properly addressed.
Failing which, he should gracefully step down as the Health Minister and publicly apologise to the people of Sabah.
SAPP In formation Chief, Chong Pit Fah asserted that this is only appropriate in view of the fact that Liow had repeatedly announced the renovation of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital II (QEHII) on three occasions in the past since its purchase from Sabah Medical Centre (SMC), that it would be completed within six months to resolve the problem of acute shortage of hospital beds in the hospital.
Liow when visiting the QEHII on Sunday said that by end of year 2011 there would be extra 500 beds and by end of 2012 with the completion of the Twin Tower at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital I another 600 beds would be available.
On Liow’s contention that Sabah is not facing a healthcare crisis, Chong countered that if this was true, then why the government had to buy a ‘second hand’ hospital from SMC.
“Why the government need to take over a second hand hospital if there is no problem in Sabah’s healthcare system and why there is a need to rent the Ling Zhi Centre in Kapayan, which was not even designed-and-built to be a hospital but now being utilized to ward patients?” he asked.
He further noted that the situation was actually so desperate that even the entire sixth floor of the QEHII (formerly SMC building), which used to be the specialists consultant office was also turned into wards despite not having the necessary facility.
“Patients are even being placed in the holding rooms,” he claimed, adding that there were also many occasion where patients from the City had to be sent to other district hospitals due to insufficient hospital beds here.
“Even an ex-minister who had to go for a knee surgery was sent to the hospital in Sandakan and there are many instances where patients from Kota Kinabalu being referred to nearby district hospitals like Beaufort,” he said in a statement issued here Monday.
Chong also noted that Liow had even admitted that the contractor doing renovation works at the SMC was behind schedule which aggravated the healthcare situation in the city, following the decanting of Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) main tower block, after it was declared unsafe for occupation in November 2008. Besides being the sole General Hospital for the State Capital, QEH is also the sole referral hospital in the state.
As the result of this, patients from all over the State who are supposed to be treated at QEH were being distributed to the various district hospitals besides the QEHII, the Bukit Padang Hospital, Likas Hospital and the Ling Zhi Centre.
“SAPP hope the Health Minister will keep his words this time and not just another ‘lip service’ to pacify the public resentment over the chaotic healthcare system in the State,” he said.
He also urged the Government representatives and apologists to stop saying that SAPP was politicizing the healthcare issue, in particular the long delay in the reconstruction of the QEH main tower block.
He categorically asserted as a responsible-and-concerned political party, SAPP was merely championing a significant issue that genuinely affects the people at large public interest that as a responsible-and-concerned political party, SAPP. -Sabahkini
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
SAPP REBUTS LIOW TIONG LAI
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chong, please be patient, all hospitals that you mentioned are still not fully completed. stop politicizing the healthcare issue and let the state government to do they job.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHealth Minister still try to improve healthcare facility in this state.
ReplyDeleteKemudahan perubatan di Sabah memang masih tidak cukup lagi. Saya yakin kerajaan sedang berusaha mengatasi masalah itu. Bebarapa hospital baru dijangka akan dibina tidak lama lagi.
ReplyDeleteharap orang sabah bersabar, kerajaan telah cuba untuk menaik taraf hospital dan kemudah perubatan.
ReplyDeleteImproper health care facilities had caused serious inconvenience to the patients and their family.
ReplyDeleteMinister promise must delivered to end the suffer of the patients and their family.
hope this problem can handle it. they promise will give the good hospital facilities.
ReplyDeleteSAPP is talking to much.
ReplyDeleteSAPP is in it again. *sigh*
ReplyDeleteSalah satu masalahnya adalah PATI yang mendapatkan bantuan perubatan di Hospital kerajaan kita. Itulah sebab mengapa bantuan perubatan tidak mencukupi.
ReplyDeleteJika betul ada kekusutan dalam sistem kesihatan segera la perbaiiki agar tidak mengundang lebih banyak masalah..
ReplyDeleteTalking too much, doing too litter.
ReplyDeleteApa-apa pun, diharap segalanya akan selesai secepat mungkin.
ReplyDeletesekurang2nya kerajaan berusaha mengatasi masalah ini. biar lambat daripada tidak ada langsung.
ReplyDeleteTiong Lai has given his words that renovation og QEH II will be completed on time because of the public interest...
ReplyDeleteNew hospital projects must be finished on time, says Liow
KOTA KINABALU: The Government will not tolerate any delay in the upgrading work for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) I and II projects.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the projects were critical and needed to be completed on schedule to meet the needs of the people.
“This is not a normal project, we need the facilities completed on time. I cannot tolerate any delays. Don’t let me down,” he said during a briefing on the RM76mil upgrading of QEH II that the government bought over from the private Sabah Medical Centre in Damai.
He said the upgrading works by MRCB at the QEH II which should be completed by Feb 2011 was already 13 days behind schedule.
The work on the nine-storey QEH II includes building a five-storey car park, elevators, refurbishing the accident and emergency department, developing the cardiology and cardiothoracic centre and expanding the minor operation theatres, among others.
The government is also building a twin tower block at the site of QEH I to replace the 10-storey tower block that has been deemed unsafe.
Liow said Public Works Department would issue a warning if the projects were delayed by 30 days and would revoke the contract if the delay hits 60 days.
He said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak was concerned about the health facilities here and wanted to ensure that the projects were completed on time.
“All parties involved – the contractor, Health Department and Public Works Department – must discuss problems on the ground and resolve them immediately.”
Liow slammed the opposition Sabah Progressive Party for claiming that there was no General Hospital in Kota Kinabalu and that the Federal Government was treating the state like a stepchild.
He said the moment the tower block at QEH was declared unfit for use, the Cabinet had approved the purchase of Sabah Medical Centre (now QEH II) and immediately decanted services to other hospitals.
Kota Kinabalu now has five operational hospitals, he said, in reference to the Likas Women and Children’s Hospital, QEH I, QEH II, Bukit Padang Hospital and Lingzhi Hospital.
On the parking problem at Tawau Hospital, he said the government would resolve the problem by building a RM16mil multi-storey car park to ease congestion.
On dengue, he said there were 29,000 cases involving 94 deaths in the country so far this year compared to 28,054 cases and 67 deaths last year.
We welcome government effort to solve the state health care problem.
ReplyDeleteKepada pesakit yang bergantung pada perkhidmatan perubatan, berita ini dapat melegakan nafas mereka.
ReplyDeleteHospital adalah kemudahan asas yang terpenting. Beribu orang tergantuung nyawa pada kemudahan ini. Kerajaan harus memberi keutamaan menyediakan hospital yang sempurna.
ReplyDeleteBina hospital yang secukupnya supaya rakyat tidak menyusah.
ReplyDelete