KUCHING, March 27: Democratic Action Party (DAP) Pending assemblywoman Violet Yong recently donated 15 wheelchairs to the Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) here.
According to a press statement yesterday, Yong was accompanied by Dr Kelvin Yii, the special assistant to DAP Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen, and other party members during the handover of the wheelchairs to a representative from SGH.
Yong lamented that the hospital’s facilities are still somewhat lacking, noting that SGH is the largest government hospital in Sarawak and that technically speaking, medical facilities and hardware facilities there should all be up-to-date and complete to cater for the patient load from all over Sarawak.
“Unfortunately, as we all know, the facilities of the Sarawak General Hospital in Kuching are somewhat lacking, especially the lack of parking lots, and many of the elevators have not been operating properly for past decades.
“On top of that, wheelchairs are also insufficient to cater to the needs of patients with limited mobility. With all the inconveniences experienced by the family members of the patients, it clearly shows how the Barisan Nasional (BN) government and the Ministry of Health do not pay much attention to the medical needs of the people in Sarawak.”
The statement also highlighted that when Yong and Yii visited the hospital earlier, they saw firsthand the lack of wheelchairs in SGH. Some were very worn out, while some of the wheelchairs’ pedals were damaged, which raised concerns on whether it will pose a danger to the patients using them.
Thus, Yong decided to take proactive action to donate 15 wheelchairs to the hospital to cater to the needs of the patients.
“Only by returning Sarawak’s healthcare autonomy can we better solve these problems of (going) backward and lacking of medical facilities,” she said.
“This is what Pakatan Harapan promised in its election manifesto. If Pakatan Harapan takes over the federal government, it will return Sarawak’s healthcare autonomy so that the state can better identify issues faced by our healthcare system and effectively solve these problems, including the shortage of doctors and funding.” — DayakDaily
