ISKANDAR PUTERI: A long-abandoned market in Johor Baru is being transformed into a fully operational government health clinic by year-end, says Johor health and environment committee chairman Ling Tian Soon.
He said this was the state government’s move to ease severe congestion at the existing Sultan Ismail Health Clinic (KKSI), which has seen patient load double from 700 to 800 a day to nearly 1,500 daily, overwhelming both space and staff.
“The present health clinic is unique as it is located within the Hospital Sultan Ismail (HSI) grounds.
“After several rounds of discussions with the Johor Health Department, we agreed that the best solution was to move part of the services to a new location to reduce the burden on the staff and disperse traffic.
“With no allocation from the Health Ministry, the Johor government fully funded the project, including site selection, equipment purchases and renovation works - amounting to over RM4mil,” he told the state assembly sitting here on Monday (Nov 17).
He was responding to an additional question from Azizul Bachok (BN-Tiram) on parking congestion at HSI.
Ling added that the former commercial market had been repurposed into the new KKSI mother and child unit, slated to open on Dec 15.
He added that the new health clinic sits in a spacious commercial area in Mount Austin nearby, offering ample parking and easier access compared to the current KKSI building.
