PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s oldest hospital, a critical medical hub originally opened in 1880, is grappling with a capacity crisis.
Staff are reportedly sometimes forced to administer life-saving cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) – not on beds – but directly on the floor due to a dire lack of basic equipment.
Sources reveal that the 145-year-old Taiping hospital is chronically short of beds, leaving patients to wait on canvas cots or on the floor, particularly in the overcrowded Emergency Department.
Despite having recently won global awards for its stroke and emergency care, the hospital is struggling with ageing infrastructure, including old equipment, faulty air conditioning and a critical need for an upgrade.
“The crowding often happens at the emergency department,” said a staff member who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“Some of the beds are old. And patient volume is quite high,” he said.
“There are also problems with the air-conditioning and lighting. The lights are an older model, so it is difficult to source the parts.”
The staff member pointed out that the hospital needs an upgrade.
“This is the main hospital for the northern region of Perak.”
An official from the Health Ministry, when contacted, said: “We are aware of this. And steps to improve the conditions are underway.”
But despite its shortcomings, Hospital Taiping earned global recognition recently when it won the Angels Platinum award for emergency medical services and the Angels Diamond award for its stroke treatment.
The Angels Initiative is endorsed by the European Stroke Organisation and the World Stroke Organisation.
Hospital Taiping, which is the second largest in Perak after Ipoh’s Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun, has over 600 beds and 34 medical specialties.
On Nov 13, the woes of Hospital Taiping emerged on Facebook when MCA Youth information chief Neow Choo Seong uploaded a video of his visit there.
According to him, he made a surprise visit following complaints that patients were made to sleep on the floor.
In the video, a staff member told Neow that patients are seated on chairs, while waiting to be placed in wards, when the hospital runs out of canvas beds.
She also said that during peak periods, treatment including CPR had to be administered on the floor.
In the video, the Psychiatric Unit had air-conditioning issues. There was also a brief clip showing a pile of broken tiles.
The two-minute video mostly featured Neow speaking to staff members at the hospital.
When contacted by The Star, Neow said he had been informed that some repair works would take place soon.
“This includes fixing the tiles and air conditioners at the psychiatric ward.”
Neow said the hospital will receive 10 beds next week through contributions from NGOs and private donors.
But there is a need for almost 100 beds to accommodate the patient volume, Neow said, adding that some beds were far too old.
“They need funding from the Federal Government. I will submit a report to the Health Ministry.”
Among others, he said that he would recommend a relocation of the hospital to a new site with sufficient parking lots.
According to the historical facts listed on the Health Ministry website, the Taiping hospital made history when it became the first in the country to be equipped with X-ray facilities not long after it was introduced to the public by its inventor, German scientist Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen.
