KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah government will seek federal funding to rebuild Papar Hospital’s pharmacy store, which was destroyed in a fire on Monday evening (Nov 11).
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, who was briefed on the incident, pushed for swift reconstruction of the affected facilities and revealed that the loss of medicines alone is estimated at over RM1.3mil.
“The cost of rebuilding the pharmacy store has yet to be determined. As a state government, we are deeply concerned and will look for ways to assist, including requesting the federal government’s support to reconstruct the damaged building,” Hajiji told reporters after inspecting the damaged building.
Commending the quick action of the Fire and Rescue Department, he noted that the most important outcome was that no casualties were reported in the incident.
Meanwhile, Sabah state Health director Datuk Dr Asits Sanna reported that patients in unstable conditions requiring urgent care have been transferred to nearby hospitals.
“Papar Hospital, in coordination with the Sabah state Health Department Headquarters (JKNS), has activated a contingency plan to ensure healthcare services remain uninterrupted and that the hospital is prepared for any further challenges,” Dr Asits said.
In the 7pm incident, 15 firefighters from the Papar and Kimanis Fire and Rescue stations were deployed to the scene.
Papar MP Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali stated that staff members from the Papar Parliamentary Office were instructed to provide food and drinks to patients, as the hospital’s kitchen was also impacted.
This arrangement will continue until the hospital can source meals from external suppliers.
Additionally, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad shared via Facebook that the evacuation of patients proceeded smoothly, including transfers to nearby hospitals.
He added that further updates on the incident would be provided following the investigation and verification by authorities.
In his earlier post, Dr Dzulkefly shared that 51 inpatients were in the hospital during the incident.
Of this total, eight patients were in the emergency ward - one in the red zone and seven in the yellow zone.
He explained that during the fire, the patient in the red zone and three patients from the yellow zone were transferred to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kota Kinabalu.
Meanwhile, 19 male patients in the general ward were temporarily accommodated in the operating theatre, and 14 female patients were temporarily placed in the maternity ward.
“Fourteen paediatric patients remain in the children’s ward, while four maternity patients (including two postnatal cases) are also staying in the maternity ward,” he said.
