KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 23 – Bukit Gasing state assemblyman Rajiv Rishyakaran has echoed calls for the government to construct a Ministry of Health (MOH) hospital in Petaling Jaya.
Responding to CodeBlue’s report on the dire shortage of housemen at Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), Rajiv expressed his concern about the long waiting times at the public university hospital (UH).
“The crux of the public concern with UH is long waiting times, which has been the case for as long as I can remember, and it’s really expensive compared to a general hospital.
“I’ve always called for MOH to build a general hospital for PJ, and not shortchange PJ residents,” Rajiv told CodeBlue.
“Waiting times differ from person to person. Some people wait for months for an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan or a scope.”
CodeBlue pointed out to the DAP lawmaker that building a general hospital in Petaling Jaya could exacerbate staffing issues, given the staff shortages in both MOH and Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) health care facilities.
“Then do you suggest closing two GH to solve staffing problems? Of course it will make staffing problems worse,” Rajiv responded.
Former Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah proposed the idea of an MOH hospital in PJ two years ago, highlighting the inadequacy of the district’s public health care facilities.
With a population of nearly 620,000, PJ relies on just three small, overcrowded, and understaffed public health clinics – Taman Medan, Kelana Jaya, and Section 4.
The only public hospital in PJ is the teaching hospital, UMMC, under MOHE.
CodeBlue reported last week that a shortage of house officers has forced the Department of Medicine at UMMC to consider adopting a “Zero HO Protocol”.
The “Zero HO Protocol”, termed by UMMC’s Department of Medicine then acting head, urges staff at the largest department of the Klang Valley hospital to operate “under the assumption that we no longer have the services of house officers”.
Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad has yet to issue a statement, despite demands from doctors’ groups like the Malaysian Medical Association and Malaysian Medics International for an explanation.
