PETALING JAYA: The extended waiting times and late admissions at Hospital Tuanku Ja’afar in Seremban are due to a fire at the hospital’s substation switch, says Negri Sembilan state health director Datuk Dr Harlina Abdul Rashid.
She said it was a regrettable situation as the incident at the substation on Thursday led to operational disruption.
“Furthermore, the number of patients at the emergency and trauma department (ETD) was high during the time, with no empty beds compounding the situation.
“To reduce congestion, a discharge lounge that could accommodate six beds with a holding bay capacity of 12 beds was prepared as a temporary transit ward to reduce the impact of the delay,” Dr Harlina said yesterday.
She added that other measures included monitoring ETD shifts to prioritise patients, implementing step-down activities to transfer patients to other hospitals if necessary, and mobilising additional staff at the ETD.
“Those with light symptoms were advised to seek treatment at district health hospitals to enable the ETD to give priority to emergency cases,” she said.
A team from the Seremban Fire and Rescue Department arrived at the scene at 12.48pm and extinguished the blaze by 1.35pm. No casualties were reported.
The Fire and Rescue Department will conduct further investigations, said Dr Harlina.
Negri Sembilan Fire and Rescue Department senior operations commander II Khir Amir Ahmad reported that a generator room measuring 45.7x12.1m supplying electricity to the hospital was about 40% damaged by the blaze.
He said the fire was sparked by a truck carrying construction material that got stuck on an electrical cable, causing the cable pole to break.
Based on a reporter’s observation at the ETD’s registration area, a Malay daily reported last Friday that many patients were concerned that they could not be placed in wards as they were full.
