IPOH: About RM6.5mil is needed to expand and upgrade the facilities at Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital here to handle the high volume of patients, says Perak health executive council member A. Sivanesan.
He said this would cover the cost of upgrading the emergency and trauma unit, getting more medical equipment, and expansion work.
“The state Health Department has already sent proposals and applications to the Health Ministry to upgrade the hospital’s facilities, especially its emergency and trauma unit.
“Former state health director Datuk Dr Ding Lay Ming told me that former Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin saw the need to upgrade the emergency and trauma unit during his visit in April.
“He (Khairy) promised to help and managed to put in the papers for Budget 2023,” Sivanesan told a press conference after visiting the hospital here yesterday.
An online report had highlighted that the 131-year-old hospital had insufficient doctors, facilities and beds.
“If we can get this allocation, a big portion of the issues can be resolved,” said Sivanesan.
He added that despite the shortcomings, no patient was denied treatment.
“The usual complaints I get are patient congestion, lack of parking spaces and long waiting times to see doctors.
“But there are no issues with the services, treatments or medication,” he said, adding that the hospital currently had 1,361 beds.
Sivanesan said the hospital had about 4,900 employees but was still understaffed.
“The number of red zone (critical) patients who sought treatment at the emergency and trauma unit in 2019 was 6,840.
“In 2020, that number rose to 10,831 patients and then to 15,094 in 2021. The number of patients has increased but the number of staff remains unchanged.
“The staff at the hospital are trying their level best to cut down on waiting time,” he added.
Separately, Sivanesan said the state was looking to revisit the plan to build a new hospital in Kampar.
“After (looking at) three areas, we finally identified a suitable piece of land.
“We have visited the land office to ask about its availability and it has been sorted out,” he said.