TAWAU: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has directed the Ministry of Health to review the need to increase bed capacity at Tawau Hospital to ensure that patients receive proper medical treatment.
He said the hospital is already operating at full capacity even after the addition of 150 new beds, and instructed the Ministry’s Secretary-General (KSU) to assess the possibility of further increasing the number of beds.
“This is a large hospital — the new block itself looks like an entirely new hospital — but the capacity is still not enough.
“So, we can still add around 100 to 150 more beds to increase capacity, because patients deserve to be treated properly with adequate facilities,” he said when officiating the new block building of Tawau Hospital on Monday.
Anwar added that the Madani Government focuses on two main areas to improve the people’s well-being — education and healthcare.
“If we look around, many countries prioritise defence or large mega projects. However, under the Madani Government, we focus on the two most important aspects — education and healthcare, followed by infrastructure development.
“For poor families, the way to uplift them is through quality education. Rural children can only progress not through instant income, but through proper education.
“We emphasise better facilities for our schools, and when it comes to our parents, our children, and even ourselves when we face health issues, we must have satisfactory healthcare services.
“So, if the health facilities are inadequate, we must improve them. So sufficient spending should go toward developing both education and healthcare,” he said.
He also noted that the contract doctor issue is nearly resolved, with the cooperation of the Ministry of Health and the Public Service Department (JPA).
Among those present were Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, Health Ministry Secretary-General Datuk Seri Suriani Ahmad, Tawau Hospital Director Dr Norlimah Arsad and Tawau Assemblyman Datuk Lo Su Fui.
