KUALA LUMPUR, March 19 — The Selangor state government plans to build five private hospitals within five years for the middle class, a state executive councillor said.
Selangor Health, Welfare, Women Empowerment and Family Committee chairman Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud told StarMetro that the hospitals will be constructed by the Selangor State Development Corporation’s (PKNS) wholly owned subsidiary Selgate Corporation.
Selgate Rawang Hospital, which will have 267 beds by the time it is completed by 2023, is expected to start operations next year after the first phase is completed by December.
“The four other hospitals will be built in urban and suburban areas, namely Kota Damansara, Shah Alam, Gombak and Kuala Selangor.
“There are also plans to expand the network of general practice (GP) clinics in the Klang Valley,” Dr Siti Mariah was quoted saying.
The Selgate Kota Damansara Hospital in Petaling Jaya, which will have 150 beds, is a community hospital with a women and children’s centre.
The Selgate Setia Alam Hospital in Shah Alam will reportedly have 160 beds, while the Selgate Gombak Hospital in Gombak will have 150 beds.
According to StarMetro, patient visits to Klinik Kesihatan in Selangor rose from 4.19 million in 2014 to 5.64 million in 2018. Five government health clinics in the state exceeded 200,000 patient visits last year — Klinik Kesihatan Kajang, Klinik Kesihatan Ampang, Klinik Kesihatan Sungai Buloh, Klinik Kesihatan Selayang Baru and Klinik Kesihatan Bandar Botanic.
Dr Siti Mariah told StarMetro that the five new hospitals would be built through joint ventures and projects financed by Selgate. Selgate would cover the cost of human resource.
“It is timely for Selangor to venture into healthcare and this is a strategic move by the state,” she was quoted saying.
“The Selgate hospitals aim to offer private yet affordable medical facilities for middle-class families. These hospitals will offer multidisciplinary services such as obstetrics, gynaecology, paediatrics, orthopaedic, general medicine and general surgery. However, there will be no specialist centres like cancer at these hospitals.”
