Beds no enough

There was a report on the lacking of beds in SGH to cater for Kuching City in The Star Online today. Of course 800 beds are always not enough for a hospital that serves as a district hospital for Kuching and as a referral centre for the whole state of Sarawak. Not to mention the areas surrounding Kuching like Samarahan and the borders of Bau, Serian and Lundu where the residents might find it nearer to go to SGH than their respective district hospitals.

THE LACK of a second general hospital in Kuching is a matter of life and death. With its 800 beds, Sarawak’s only public hospital serves a population of more than 2.5 million of whom close to 700,000 reside in the state capital.

In comparison, the Kota Kinabalu public hospital has 1,200 beds and serves a population of 610,000.

Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) is an old facility which received a facelift in 2008. However, the renovation costing more than RM100mil did not add any new beds. Visit the hospital now and you’ll see that it is cramped in the wards and congested in the parking lots.

It is not like these problems have not been reported by the media. Since 2007, The Borneo Post has written numerous articles about SGH’s woes.

Not good enough: Sarawak General Hospital was given a facelift in 2008 but its 800 beds are insufficient to serve the state.

It was clear back then – as it is now – that something had to be done fast to improve the situation. But till today, inadequate medical care continues to be a stumbling block in Sarawak’s development.

Let’s not even mention the disruption of the flying-doctor service for almost a year from 2008 to 2009.

SGH’s problems are symptomatic of healthcare in Malaysia’s largest state. Much has been said about physical development in terms of schools, industrial parks and airports.
Taken from this perspective, improvements in the quality of life of Sarawakians is commendable.

But it’s safe to say that healthcare has always been the back burner in strategic development plans. Yes, there are hospitals and clinics in many rural areas, but the question is whether these facilities offer specialist care. More often than not, the answer is in the negative.

Most patients are referred to Kuching, and is 800 beds sufficient?

“Not even close,” said National Heart Association Malaysia president Prof Dr Sim Kui Hian, who heads SGH’s Cardiac Department.

“Our team of doctors and nurses can offer much better care given room to expand. This is an on-going problem and the reason for it is that our health needs is bound by bureaucracy.

“When the State Health Department highlights the need for a second general hospital, it must pass through the State Cabinet, then on to the Federal Cabinet, then on to the Economic Planning Unit, then finally to the Finance Ministry. Somewhere along the line, our needs are likely to get distorted,” he told StarMetro.

Dr Sim suggested that a special Federal Cabinet committee for Sabah and Sarawak be set up to look into healthcare issues in the two states.

“I hope the Prime Minister himself will head the committee. I’ve spoken to the Health Minister about this and I hope it is well received. In fact, it is crucial that the suggestion be taken up,” he said.

Former Sarawak Health Director Dr Yao Sik Chi agreed with the idea. He said the issue lay on the fast-tracking of financial allocations.

“In the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP), for example, a certain amount of money was set aside for the Health Ministry. Sure, the state made recommendations and these were submitted. The plans included the building of a multi-storey car park at our old hospital,” Dr Yao said.
“The plan was accepted and money was allocated during the 9MP mid-term review. But there was competing interest from Sabah. As you know, they had problems with their public hospital too. So the Government had to prioritise.”

The cold hard facts point to a lack of foresight at best and negligence at worst. How was is it possible for Federal policy makers to assume that a decades-old referral hospital, which takes charge of heart, cancer, burns, plastic surgery, childcare, old-age care, emergencies and accidents, be sufficient for an ever-growing state.

Sarawak’s growth is in population numbers and in various high-risk industries. Sarawak is an oil-producing state and this means burn-related injuries; Sarawak is involved in down-stream logging activities, which means machine-related accidents; Sarawak is aiming to become a high-income state, which means a greater need to treat stress-related illnesses; so on and so forth.

Faced with these problems, it’s no wonder that some members of the public have taken matters into their own hands.

For example, to help in the lack of parking at SGH, non-governmental organisations and some private individuals have began allowing people to park their vehicles on land surrounding the hospital. This comes at a fee of course.

But are there problems of legality and safety in doing this?
Probably, but finding a place to park fast when you want to see an ill friend or relative is a greater concern. Or when you yourself need to be on time for a doctor’s appointment.

The state is wise to say that the site around the long-delayed Sarawak International Medical Centre will be converted into a “Medical City”.

The Chief Minister said this two weeks ago, adding that the Federal Government would allow the state to have a greater say in its medical development.
Nonetheless, any new “city” will take time to build.

“I’m thinking that our government should be planning a second and third public hospital in Kuching,” Dr Sim said.

“You know how long it takes to build something as complicated as a public hospital. Get the second one up and running fast, but don’t forget to plan for another.”

A greater social safety net needs to be available for Sarawakians, who might otherwise die early for no good cause.

It was imagined long ago that a local Uni would have its own Uni Hospital. The notion was well received, created an excitement of somewhat to the local bred medical fraternity, and yet, it still remained as a dream yet to come true. This side of Malaysia, it is long due that an academic based tertiary care facility be constructed to support the increasing demand of health care needed by the people. After all being said, it would begin to work if the bureaucracy stated by Dr Sim above put people first and performance now in top gear.