By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, July 25: Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) should be provided with staffing positions comparable to hospitals of similar capacity in Peninsular Malaysia to strengthen healthcare services, particularly critical care in Sarawak, says Deputy Premier and Minister for Public Health, Housing, and Local Government Datuk Amar Professor Dr Sim Kui Hian.
Speaking to reporters after attending the Sarawak Critical Care Conference (SCCC) 2026 here today, Dr Sim said SGH currently has about 1,000 beds supported by around 4,500 staff, compared with about 5,500 staff at hospitals of similar capacity in Peninsular Malaysia.
“A hospital with 1,000 beds, whether in Kuching or in Peninsular Malaysia, should have the same number of staff. If we have 4,500 staff, other hospitals with the same capacity should also have the same number. If they have 5,500 staff, why do we have fewer staff?” he asked, as reported by the Sarawak Public Communication Unit (Ukas).
Dr Sim said the manpower shortage was not confined to the intensive care unit (ICU) but affected the hospital as a whole. He urged the Ministry of Health Malaysia to address the gap by creating sufficient staffing positions to meet the actual needs of healthcare services in the State.
He also said recruitment challenges in Sarawak should be considered alongside the availability of established posts, adding that personnel could not be recruited if the positions had not been created.
Dr Sim expressed optimism that intensive care services in the State could rank among the best in the Asia-Pacific region if they continued to receive appropriate support and resources and cited the Sarawak Heart Centre as an example of a healthcare institution in the State achieving international standards.
Meanwhile, SCCC 2026 programme director Dr Rachel Chin Wei Ven said SGH recorded 2,975 patients requiring ventilator support in 2025, compared with nearly 2,300 patients in 2020, reflecting growing demand for critical care services.
She also said the SGH Medical Critical Care Unit, established in 2025, has expanded into a 13-bed critical care unit dedicated to managing critically ill medical patients. — DayakDaily
