By Ashley Sim
KUCHING, April 18: There is no question that health tourism is important, but it is more important that Sarawakians get the best healthcare, says Sarawak Deputy Premier Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian.
When asked about health tourism, he stated that it is tied to Sarawak’s borders, policies, and how testing will be done, among other things.
“When you look at the heart centre, we have the best equipment, and we don’t open any private practice.
“If we open a private practice, I think the heart centre will have more foreigners than locals.
“But who pays for the heart centre? It’s you and me, and the foreigners are the ones who use it,” he said during a dinner with the media at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching.
Dr Sim, who is also the Minister for Public Health, Housing, and Local Government, said that there are still many areas of specialisation that need to be developed in Sarawak in the future.
“Most areas of specialisation are only available in Kuching. Although, compared to 20 years ago, we have more specialists now. Still, we must consider other cities and towns, such as Sibu, Bintulu, and Miri, and bringing the services of private doctors to public hospitals.
“We may not have enough resources to build a cardiac centre, but we can build the facilities because there are cardiologists currently in the private hospital in Miri. We may ask them to come and provide their services using the public facilities and as part of future plans.
“These are all the things that we are going to study so that patients don’t need to fly to Kuching just to get cardiac treatment because a heart attack is an acute emergency, and you cannot tell a heart attack to wait until you reach Kuching,” he said.
Furthermore, he stated that the Sarawak government’s priority is to improve healthcare for Sarawakians and prioritise their health.
“Health tourism is more concentrated in the domains of private hospitals, so our goal is to provide the best that we can for our own.
“Every country does the same thing, putting their people first,” Dr Sim concluded. — DayakDaily
