By Ling Hui
KUCHING, Dec 14: Helicopter or other transport services are in place for emergency transfers to state hospitals, says Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
Referring to a recent case where a three-month-old baby girl died while in a bus en route to seek medical treatment, he said investigations need to be conducted to find out why the parents took their own transport rather than approaching a district hospital for help.
“Normally, when patients come to our district hospitals, we will do the referral rather than the patients taking their own transport to the state hospitals.
“We were not involved, so the question is why did the parents take a six-hour journey rather than coming to our district hospital.
“We have our primary care in health clinics and if needed be, we have flying doctor services and other forms of transport,” said Dr Noor Hisham at a press conference today.
He said an investigation is needed to know more details, however, the parents could not be reached as of yet.
“The Sarawak State Health Department is investigating to find the details of this case before we can make any conclusions.
“The system is in place actually. The only thing is why did the parents not use the current referral system,” he added.
Dr Noor Hisham was talking to reporters after the opening ceremony of the 2022 Academy of Silent Mentor (AFSM) Tripartite Conference at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) here today. — DayakDaily
