EXPECTANT mothers and young families in Kulai will soon be able to avoid long queues at the government clinic, as plans are underway to relocate mother-and-child healthcare services to a nearby hypermarket.
Johor health and environment committee chairman Ling Tian Soon said the state government has approved funding to move the unit from the Kulai health clinic to two shoplots at Lotus’s Kulai, some 4km away, as early as June.
“The relocation is aimed at easing chronic congestion at the clinic, which has long struggled with high patient volume across both its outpatient and maternal and child health units.
“The tendering process is ongoing for renovation works and we expect the facility to be ready in the next two months,” he said.
It is learned that the space earmarked for the new facility is currently a children’s playground within the hypermarket, which will be repurposed into a clinic.
Ling visited the site with Chua Jian Boon, who is the Johor Mentri Besar’s special officer for Chinese community affairs, and Health Ministry representatives to obtain updates about the project’s progress.
According to Ling, the state is also looking at relocating certain healthcare services from the Majidee health clinic by July to better serve patients.
“Both the Kulai and Majidee government clinics see between 800 and 850 patients daily each, and the move is expected to reduce congestion while improving service quality,” he said.
He added that such initiatives were part of wider efforts by the state government to improve public healthcare delivery through decentralisation.
One such initiative includes the relocation of mother-and-child health services from the Sultan Ismail health clinic at Hospital Sultan Ismail to a repurposed commercial site in Mount Austin, which began operations last December, said Ling.
“Previously handling between 1,200 and 1,500 patients daily, the original facility faced significant congestion, prompting the state to decant services to a more conducive location.
“The new facility was developed at a cost of about RM6mil, including rental for 10 years, renovation and equipment.
It now handles between 130 and 200 maternal and child health appointments daily, along with 200 to 250 drive-through pharmacy visits,” he elaborated.
Ling said public feedback over the past three months had been positive, reflecting improved access and patient satisfaction.
He added that the state government would continue working closely with Health Ministry to further strengthen healthcare services.
