Elevating public healthcare: Sultan Sharafuddin (fourth from right) inspecting the hospital replica alongside Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin (third from right) after officiating the launch of its Women and Children Treatment Centre. — Bernama
KLANG: Selangor Ruler Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah has urged the Health Ministry and the Selangor Health Department to seriously address the issue of overworked healthcare staff in the state.
“Recently, there have been complaints of healthcare staff, such as nurses and paramedics, being forced to work double shifts.“This has led to an imbalance in their quality of life,’’ said Sultan Sharafuddin in the Ruler’s royal address at an event launching the Kajang Hospital’s Women and Children Treatment Centre as well as renaming the hospital as Hospital Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin yesterday.
The Ruler said the ministry and its state department must ensure that healthcare personnel are distributed fairly and accordingly to all medical facilities for the matter to be addressed effectively.
“If the current staffing arrangement is insufficient, create new positions to meet the urgent need,’’ added Sultan Sharafuddin.
The Sultan believed that the welfare of hospital staff would be taken care of if this was done.
Sultan Sharafuddin also directed the Health Ministry to consider building new hospitals or constructing additional blocks to existing hospitals in Selangor.
“I have been made to understand that the rate of bed usage in several main hospitals is high, with patients not being able to obtain beds upon admission in most of these hospitals,” said Sultan Sharafuddin.
The Ruler also conveyed appreciation to the Health Ministry for building the Kapar Hospital for the benefit of Selangor residents.
“At the same time, I would like to recommend KKM (Health Ministry) to give special attention to the construction of the proposed Sepang Hospital.
“I am sure the construction of the Sepang Hospital is much needed and awaited by the people of Selangor, especially those in the Sepang district and surrounding areas, which are quickly growing to be at par with Petaling Jaya,” said Sultan Sharafuddin.
The Ruler also said there is a shortage of health clinics throughout Selangor in comparison to the ratio of residents in the state.
Sultan Sharafuddin added that although there are many private clinics and hospitals in Selangor, most people are not able to afford them.
“Hence, I want the Health Ministry to consider building new government clinics in strategic locations as well as replacing old clinics.
“This is very important because only at government health facilities can people receive treatment and specialist care at a reasonable charge,” said Sultan Sharafuddin.
The Ruler also hoped that efforts would be intensified to upgrade geriatric healthcare services as Malaysia is expected to become an ageing nation by 2035, where those aged 70 and above are projected to exceed 8% of the total population in Selangor.
According to Sultan Sharafuddin, the status of geriatric healthcare services in Malaysia is still somewhat lagging compared to countries such as Japan and Singapore.
“I am of the opinion that geriatric units must be expanded and upgraded in several hospitals and health clinics and manned by appropriate specialists.
“A referral geriatrics hospital must be set up in Selangor to accommodate the increase in the number of senior citizens above the age of 70 here,’’ said Sultan Sharafuddin.
