Making patients more comfortable

Ling (centre) looking at the state of the chairs at the waiting area in Hospital Sultanah Nora Ismail, Batu Pahat. With him is Penggaram assemblyman Gan Peck Cheng (left, in white shirt).

Johor government will focus on assisting hospitals in three districts this year to provide the people with a more comfortable experience while seeking medical treatment.

State health and unity committee chairman Ling Tian Soon said they aimed to help improve the government hospitals in any way they could, despite the medical facilities falling under the jurisdiction of the Federal Government.

“Last year, the state government assisted Hospital Sultanah Aminah and Hospital Sultan Ismail in Johor Baru, as well as Hospital Kota Tinggi, with infrastructure upgrades and additional furniture and equipment.

“This year, we will focus on the government hospitals in Batu Pahat, Muar and Kulai.

“I recently visited Muar’s Hospital Pakar Sultanah Fatimah where I announced a state government grant of RM250,000 to upgrade its waiting area. The project is expected to begin soon.

“During my visit to Hospital Sultanah Nora Ismail in Batu Pahat, I found that the waiting area at its old block was quite hot as it had no air-conditioning.

“So I will provide some coolers and fans to improve the ventilation there,” he said, adding that the old hospital building had been in operation since 1994.

Ling said Health Ministry had allocated RM161,000 to convert the nurses’ training building at Hospital Sultanah Nora Ismail into a new dialysis centre and RM93,000 more to upgrade the hospital’s damaged corridors.

The Yong Peng assemblyman said he would visit Hospital Temenggong Seri Maharaja Tun Ibrahim (HTSMTI) in Kulai soon to see how the state government could be of assistance.

Meanwhile, HTSMTI director Dr Noor Raudah Abd Rahman said the government healthcare facility was in need of an upgrade to cater to Kulai’s growing population.

“Kulai has the third highest population in Johor, with more than 329,000 people recorded in the 2020 census.

“The demand for healthcare has also grown,” she said.

According to Dr Noor Raudah, the 31-year-old hospital had only 93 beds compared with 1,206 in Hospital Sultanah Aminah, 704 in Hospital Sultan Ismail, 575 in Hospital Pakar Sultanah Fatimah and 158 in Hospital Kota Tinggi as of last year.

She said the bed occupancy rate at HTSMTI was 91.19% in January this year, while in 2022, it was 73.59%. In 2021, the bed occupancy rate was 60.47%.

“Last year, our bed occupancy rate was also among the highest in Johor.

“We currently have 350 medical staff members of various levels but we need 163 more to fill the gaps and serve the people better,” she said.

Dr Noor Raudah added that she had highlighted the issues during Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa’s visit to the hospital recently.