KUCHING: Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) president Senator Professor Dr Sim Kui Hian will continue to fight for a cancer institute and another Miri General Hospital to be built in the state.
Speaking to the press yesterday, Dr Sim said during a senate sitting held in Kuala Lumpur between June 22 and July 7, he had raised these issues to the Health Ministry stating the importance and the need for Sarawak to have its own cancer institute.
He expressed his unhappiness with Deputy Health Minister Dato Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya’s reply during the sitting that at the moment Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) was providing comprehensive treatment for cancer which included oncology, radiotherapy, transplant (haematology/paediatric oncology), nuclear medicine and palliative care.
Dr Hilmi added that the Health Ministry had no plans yet to build a cancer institute for Sarawak. However, they would consider the suggestion if there was a need in future.
“We have specialists but no facility. We need to have a cancer institute just like the heart centre in Samarahan. Cancer is the second most common disease,” Dr Sim stressed yesterday.
On Miri General Hospital, Dr Sim explained the need to have a second hospital because the current one was too congested due to the large number of patients.
Furthermore, a second Miri General Hospital would better optimise the health care of Sarawakians and would better benefit those from Miri, Bintulu, Baram, Limbang and Lawas.
“I do appreciate the Federal Government’s approval to upgrade Miri Hospital but I will still continue to fight for a second Miri General Hospital to be built because we need it,” he added.
In a reply given by Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S Subramaniam on this matter, he said the Health Ministry was planning to upgrade Miri Hospital to increase health services for Bintulu, Baram, Marudi, Limbang and Lawas.
Subramanian said the ministry had included the upgrading project to be carried out under the 11th Malaysia Plan.
As a major specialist hospital, Miri Hospital was equipped with diagnostic machines like Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Computed Tomography (CT) Scan and fluoroscopy.
A total of RM4.4 million had being allocated to replace and upgrade CT scan machines (from single slice to 16 slices) and fluoroscopy this year, he added.
Subramanian said in 2014, a total of RM4.4 million had being allocated to replace and upgrade medical equipment and a total of RM2.8 million allocated for the same purpose this year.
- Borneo Post Online
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