How it’s done: Sultan Nazrin and Tuanku Zara looking at the patient treatment procedure at Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun in Ipoh. — Bernama
IPOH: More beds will be provided for the women, children and cardiology complex of Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun, says Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zulkefly Ahmad.
He said RM1.2mil will be allocated to procure the beds.
“The hospital currently has about 1,390 beds, which include 404 beds at the complex, but it is still not enough.
“The ministry will provide RM1.2mil to procure 250 beds so that it can operate at full capacity,” he told a press conference after attending the opening ceremony of the complex by the Sultan of Perak Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah here yesterday.
The 10-storey complex, which cost about RM237mil, was completed on Aug 15, 2019.
It started operating in December 2019, offering cardiology, paediatric, obstetric and gynaecology services.
These include outpatient treatment, neonatal intensive care, invasive and non-invasive cardiac labs, paediatric intensive care and high dependency units, a respiratory haemodynamic unit and a skills laboratory for training.
The building also offers support services like radiology, operating theatres, a pharmacy and central sterile supply department.
Zulkefly said a tender has also been opened for the upgrade and refurbishment work of Hospital Kuala Kangsar.
“Sultan Nazrin had asked about the project during a brief discussion earlier, and I will follow up on it. We have just started with the tender process,” he said.
During the tabling of Budget 2023 in February last year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced that RM36.3bil would be allocated to the health sector.
This includes work to upgrade and refurbish several hospitals, including those in Kuala Kangsar; Jelebu in Negri Sembilan; and Pontian in Johor.
In his speech earlier, Dzulkefly said Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun is one of the three largest hospitals in Malaysia, after Hospital Kuala Lumpur and Hospital Penang.
He added that the delay in opening the complex was due to several challenges, including the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said the Health Ministry would always work towards preparing fair, equitable, sustainable, appropriately-priced and quality healthcare services to the people, as underlined in the Health White Paper.
Dzulkefly said Perak now has 15 hospitals, five of which are specialist hospitals; 88 health clinics; 73 dental clinics; 10 maternal and child health clinics; 222 rural clinics; and 18 community clinics.
Also present during the opening ceremony were Raja Permaisuri Perak Tuanku Zara Salim, Raja Muda Perak Raja Jaafar Raja Muda Musa, Raja DiHilir Perak Raja Iskandar Dzulkarnain Idris Shah, Raja Puan Besar Perak Raja Nazhatul Shima Idris Shah, Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad, and Perak Speaker Datuk Mohamad Zahir Abdul Khalid.
