Govt will continue to upgrade facilities at cluster hospitals: Dr Subramaniam

ALOR GAJAH: The public will soon enjoy improved facilities, less congestion and comfort following the Health Ministry's initiative to upgrade all 46 cluster hospitals nationwide.
Its minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said improvements in cluster hospitals would be reviewed from time to time as it would be more cost-effective than constructing new hospitals.
"The concept of a cluster hospital means one specialist hospital with one or two district hospitals share human resources, expertise and treatment facilities apart from expenses incurred being not too high thus negating the need to build new specialist hospitals.
"Also, with this move, we will gradually increase other services and facilities such as providing anaesthetists, specialists and so on because when this is done, there will be no difference for patients to obtain treatment at any hospital, either at specialist or district hospitals," he said.
He was speaking to reporters after a working visit to the Alor Gajah Hospital here today. Also present were Health Ministry Secretary-General, Datuk Seri Dr Chen Chaw Min; Health Director-General, Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah; Malacca Health, Sports Development and Anti-Drugs Committee chairman Datuk Ab Rahaman Ab Karim and Malacca Health Department Director Datuk Dr Ghazali Othman.
Earlier, Subramaniam said the bed occupancy rates in most specialist hospitals have reached between 90 and 100 per cent as compared to district hospitals which was about 50%.
Forty-six cluster hospitals have been established throughout the country since 2014, involving 18 specialist hospitals and 28 district hospitals. In Malacca, there are three cluster hospitals namely the Malacca Hospital, Alor Gajah Hospital and Jasin Hospital.
Meanwhile, he said no new cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) had been reported thus far, after a 55-year-old man from Selangor was diagnosed with the infection upon his return from performing umrah (minor Haj) on Dec 23.
He said the ministry had earlier advised the operators of umrah and tour packages to avoid organising visits to camel farms, but still there were people who went there and drank raw camel milk.
"Based on scientific evidence, the camel is a carrier for MERS-CoV, although the animal has no signs of illness. We have had two cases (one in 2014) involving victims who visited camel farms and drank the raw milk and were suspected of being infected following their return to Malaysia," he said.
The first case involved a 54-year-old man from Batu Pahat, Johor, who died at the Sultanah Nora Ismail Hospital after complaining of fever, cough and breathing difficulty, about 10 days upon his return from performing umrah on March 29, 2014. It was the first fatality due to the disease in the country. – Bernama