KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 17 — A visit by the deputy prime minister’s aide to Taiping Hospital has uncovered a severe bed shortage in the emergency department, forcing patients onto canvas beds or even the floor.
In a video of his visit to Perak’s second biggest specialist government hospital last Thursday at noon, Deputy Prime Minister II Fadillah Yusof’s special officer Neow Choo Seong noted that canvas beds were used in the emergency department.
A woman was heard telling him that if the canvas beds were full, then patients would have to sit on chairs, pending admission to wards.
“Sometimes, during peak periods, they’d get treatment on the floor, including CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation),” said Neow, who is also MCA Youth information chief, in his video that received nearly a million views on TikTok.
“I saw doctors giving treatment while squatting because the canvas bed is very low and small,” he added in a comment on TikTok. Most people waiting in the full emergency department in the morning, Neow said, were senior citizens.
Neow also highlighted malfunctioning air-conditioners and the hospital’s difficulties in getting new stocks for old menthol lamps that burnt out. The psychiatry ward had air-conditioning problems too and broken tiles on the floor.
DPM Fadillah’s aide told CodeBlue that Taiping Hospital deputy director (management) Hafizah Ahmad took him around the facility on November 13 to see the emergency department, general wards, and psychiatry ward.
“I received complaints that patients had to sleep on the floor,” said Neow in his video, explaining the reason for his surprise visit to Taiping Hospital. “So that’s very sad to me as this is a general hospital that people deem important in the northern zone of Perak.”
“If there are constraints, I want to know if this wasn’t brought up for the federal government’s knowledge, if the federal government itself did not provide sufficient allocations, or if this is a problem of bureaucracy.”
In a comment on his TikTok video, Neow said he was informed by patients’ families last Friday that they had to wait more than eight hours at Taiping Hospital before patients could get admitted into wards. Another person claimed that they went back home at 9pm after getting tired of waiting for 15 hours and being told that beds were insufficient.
Yet another alleged that their father lay on a stretcher bed in Taiping Hospital for three days when seeking treatment following an accident.
Neow said he would raise the problem of Taiping Hospital’s bed shortages to Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad and Ministry of Health (MOH) secretary-general Suriani Ahmad if it was an issue of red tape.
“If it’s an allocation problem, I will also raise this so that they will find a solution. If we can do projects for hundreds of millions of ringgit, don’t tell me we can’t take care of people’s health,” said Neow.
“I apologise for barging in or doing a surprise visit. This is because I want to understand the problems. I’m not blaming anyone; my intention is to help so that Taiping Hospital, which contributed a lot to me and my family, is in good condition,” the Taiping-born man told health workers.
Neow said on TikTok that Taiping Hospital doctors and staff were very good and helpful, based on his personal experience after his grandfather died at the hospital last year. “It’s just that facilities are insufficient and there is a shortage of officers and medical staff, causing disruptions in service and patients having to wait a long time.”
The Barisan Nasional politician — who previously ran unsuccessfully in the 15th general election against DAP’s Wong Kah Woh who won the Taiping parliament seat — noted rising patient loads at Taiping Hospital. It’s a referral centre for the entire northern zone of Perak, including Kerian and Selama, and even from Gerik and Kuala Kangsar.
Neow thanked Taiping Hospital officials and staff for permitting him entry to see the “actual situation”, saying they “felt under pressure due to a lack of support and medical facilities.”
Last Saturday, Neow said that following the video of his visit to Taiping Hospital, CCEP Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, and an individual contacted him to express their desire to donate 10 two-crank beds in total to the MOH hospital.
“I have informed this to the hospital management and also connected them to the donors to ease the handover process.”
Perak state health director Dr Feisul Idzwan Mustapha said canvas beds are temporarily used during congestion in government hospitals and that it isn’t the norm.
“While we welcome complaints about our service, please allow us to look and investigate,” Dr Feisul told CodeBlue when contacted. “It could have been an isolated incident; same with the other complaints.”
He added that the MOH could accept donations of hospital beds. “Yes, we would do due diligence and if there’s no conflict of interest, it’s not a problem accepting any form of contribution (not cash though).”
Neow told CodeBlue that Taiping Hospital management had informed him that canvas beds were used in the emergency unit due to insufficient hospital beds. The last time canvas beds were used in public hospitals was in 2021 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in Selangor.
Coincidentally, MOH posted on Facebook last Saturday that Taiping Hospital received two international awards from the Angels stroke organisation for emergency medical services and stroke care.
Taiping Hospital, the oldest hospital in Malaysia, was first constructed in 1880 as Perak’s first medical institution, then known as Yeng Wah Hospital, and functioned as a state hospital before World War II. It currently provides A&E services and secondary care.
