Need to invest more in healthcare

Support them: Despite a lack of investment in infrastructure that causes many challenges, healthcare professionals have been performing admirably during the current Covid-19 pandemic. — CHAN BOON KAI/The Star

THE fire at the Sultanah Aminah Hospital in Johor Baru in 2016 should have been a clarion call for better governance and funding for our public healthcare system. And then there was another fire on June 28 this year.

The reality of the matter is Malaysia’s public healthcare infrastructure has seen better days. A 2018 report by the National Audit Department revealed that our hospitals, especially the emergency and trauma departments, are understaffed, overcrowded and underfunded, and do not have enough equipment to provide proper levels of care.