SIMUNJAN: The Health Ministry (MoH) plans to set up a new paediatric care ward at the Simunjan hospital to address overcrowding and unsafe building conditions.
Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin assured his ministry would be hard at work to include the project as part of the Fourth Rolling Plan of the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP).
“I have inspected a building that was formerly used as a psychiatric ward and since the ground has sunk, the building is no longer safe to occupy.
“Bed occupancy is also almost 100 percent, so the need to establish a new ward is very necessary here.
“So I will try and do my best so that this upgrade project can be included in the Fourth Rolling Plan of the 12MP,” he told a press conference during his visit to Simunjan Hospital yesterday (Sept 5).
However, he said a decision would be made on whether to repair the existing building or to demolish and build a new block altogether.
“Detailed studies will be carried out before construction to ensure that the new building will not have problems in terms of land that will affect its structure later.
“While waiting for new blocks and quarters, there are several requests from Simunjan Hospital that can be approved directly such as ECG machines, ultrasound machines, mortuary cabinets and others,” he said.
Fielding questions from reporters on the status of the Petra Jaya Hospital, Khairy said a new contractor would be appointed by next year to resume its construction.
“We will work on building the hospital as soon as possible,” he said.
