By William Isau
SIBU, April 2: Sibu Hospital will be upgraded into a regional hospital with complete medical services.
“Ministry of Health is planning in detail the request to expand Sibu Hospital into a regional hospital and comparable to interstate hospitals with complete medical services,” said Sibu MP Oscar Ling today.
Ling said under the expansion plan, radiotherapy services and tumor treatment specialists will also be housed in the new building.
The ministry, he added, has also proposed building an interventional cardiovascular laboratory in Sibu Hospital under the 12th Malaysia Plan (RMK12).
If the request is approved, the construction will start in 2025 and be completed in two years. If it is not approved, the request will be proposed under the 13th Malaysia Plan (RMK13).
“I have always raised the issue in the Parliament that Sibu Hospital is the second largest hospital in Sarawak, but it has always lacked important facilities such as interventional cardiovascular diagnosis and treatment and radiotherapy,” Ling said.
He pointed out upgrading Sibu Hospital will greatly benefit hundreds of thousands of people in nearby towns such as Sarikei, Bintangor, Kapit, and Kanowit, and thus, it is critical to have specialists in cardiac diagnosis and treatment, radiotherapy services, and tumor treatment.
As Sibu Hospital is currently lacking in facilities, patients who need cardiac treatment within the coverage area of Sibu Hospital will receive treatment from resident specialists.
“For more serious (sic) patients, they will have online consultations with the cardiac medical team of the Sarawak Heart Centre.
“In addition, patients who need interventional cardiovascular treatment will be immediately transferred to the Sarawak Heart Centre, which has three interventional cardiovascular laboratories (ICL) for treatment,” he said.
Ling said currently cancer patients in Sibu will be transferred to Sarawak General Hospital for treatment. Although Sibu Hospital lacks a fixed oncology specialist and affiliated cardiovascular specialist, it still has experts in pediatric cardiology, pediatric hematology and oncology, oncology and gynecological oncology who come to provide treatment services regularly. — DayakDaily
