Irene Chang
SIBU (Sept 28): Bukit Assek assemblywoman Irene Chang has called for the decentralisation of healthcare from Putrajaya to Sarawak, giving the State Health Department autonomy over the stationing of specialists and senior health staff in hospitals.
She said this would also enable the State Health Department to decide on promotions and how funds received should be allocated equitably throughout Sarawak.
“The State Health Department should then be in a better picture of the true needs of each hospital in Sarawak and thus would be able to address and resolve those needs equitably,” she said in a statement.
Chang was referring to Deputy Health Minister II Datuk Aaron Ago Dagang’s recent statement on the lack of specialists in the State.
According to her, major hospitals in Sibu, Miri, and Bintulu have suffered greatly for over 50 years from the lack of specialists.
She pointed out that over 50 per cent of the over 500 specialists serving in Sarawak are based in Kuching.
She said Sibu Hospital is supposed to be a major specialist hospital but does not have basic sub-specialists such as nephrologists, neonatologists, or an infectious diseases physician.
“And despite the escalating needs of the people, we still do not have any oncologist and cardiologist to serve the people of the central region of Sarawak,” she said.
On the whole, she said it is undisputed that Sarawak has 1.5 times fewer doctors per population than the rest of Malaysia.
“However, this ratio is even higher for those from outside of Kuching,” she said.
Chang said the distribution of specialists in Sarawak is currently handled centrally by the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Putrajaya.
“Therefore, if Aaron is serious in resolving this issue on behalf of Sarawak, he, who is also a Sarawakian, should aggressively push for the decentralisation of healthcare from Putrajaya to Sarawak,” she said.
Chang also called on the State government to lobby for the decentralisation of healthcare and to encourage specialists to look beyond serving at the Sarawak General Hospital in Kuching.
“This they can do by stepping up economically and commercially developing other divisions in the State rather than concentrating most major developments in Kuching,” she said.
Being geographically in central Sarawak, Chang opined Sibu has the potential to become one of the main medical administrative centres.
“As this problem has been around for years and has been raised numerous times with the MoH at both the Federal and State levels, it is therefore unacceptable that the MoH should still be stuck at the discussion stage with no solution in sight.
“It is time that concrete action be taken and the starting point would be the decentralisation of healthcare from Putrajaya to Sarawak,” she added.