KUALA LUMPUR: Hospital Sultan Abdul Halim (HSAH) in Sungai Petani, Kedah, is currently operating at almost full capacity due to a surge in patients, revealed Dr Mohammed Taufiq Johari.
The Member of Parliament for Sungai Petani shared that the latest data indicates that HSAH, which has a bed capacity of 702, is currently running at a bed operational rate (BOR) of 90%.
“This concerning statistic demands immediate attention. HSAH serves an astonishing 230,588 patients annually with the help of 927 nurses and 227 doctors,” he stated in a press release on Wednesday (13 Sept).
Mohammed Taufiq Johari suggested that by allocating adequate resources, facilities, accessibility, and quality primary care services to nearby clinics, the strain on HSAH could be alleviated.
In order to ease the pressure on HSAH, he proposed the extension of operating hours for certain government clinics to provide round-the-clock healthcare services.
“We need to launch an extensive awareness campaign to educate our community about the benefits of primary healthcare services available at clinics. Once our constituents understand that clinics can deliver high-quality healthcare that often exceeds what hospitals offer, they will naturally prefer these facilities, thus reducing the burden on HSAH,” he added.
Mohammed Taufiq Johari further emphasized that these proposed solutions would not only address the overload at HSAH but also ensure that patients in Sungai Petani receive timely, efficient, and high-quality healthcare services within their local communities.
Credit: The Star : News Feed
