how long more have to wait? not urgent enough or bribe not enough?

NST : 2009/03/19

SOS for another 'Elizabeth'

By : Roy Goh

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah's dire need for a new hospital is well acknowledged by the government at both the state and federal levels.

Proposals have surfaced but nothing concrete has come out of them and the people of Sabah continue to be deprived of adequate medical services.

Medical services in the state have long been below par and it took a further blow last October.

The Tower Block at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Complex, the "heartbeat" of the state's medical and healthcare service, was declared unsafe and has since been vacated.

The block had 250 beds, eight surgery rooms, an intensive care ward, a radiology services unit, a pharmacy and a forensics unit, among others.
Other units in the hospital remain operational but the tower's closure has created a major void in services, to the extent that patients have had to be transferred to hospitals in nearby districts.

There has been a proposal for the construction of a new hospital, with the state government offering the Federal Government land for the purpose.

This, however, would only fit into a long-term plan and the state's medical and healthcare problem would not be able to wait that long, said a doctor at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital who declined to be named.

There has also been talk that the Health Ministry plans to purchase a private hospital, the Sabah Medical Centre (SMC), as well as acquire a vacant building, Wisma Khidmat, he added.

The proposal to acquire the SMC may cost RM460 million. As for Wisma Khidmat, it is likely to be cheaper.

At present, the SMC provides top-of- the-line facilities, including 460 beds and a cardiotherapy centre, a facility which the state never had although there were plans to build one at a cost of RM300 million.

"We could save on building a new cardiotherapy centre by acquiring the SMC," said the doctor.

Heart patients are currently referred to the National Heart Institute in Kuala Lumpur.

"The cost of transporting a patient on a stretcher is the equivalent of 12 return airline tickets.

"Imagine how much can be saved if we had our own cardiotherapy centre."

The state government holds a 20 per cent stake in the SMC.