KUCHING: Sarawak is looking at Western Australia’s healthcare command centre concept to strengthen rural health services.
Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian said, from his visit to Western Australia recently, it was learnt that the model, which coordinates special supports of nursing, ambulance and specialists from a central hub, could be studied for implementation in Sarawak, especially given the state’s vast and sparsely populated areas.
“So, maybe we can look into this with Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA).
“The idea could be piloted in Sarawak, either at private (hospitals), Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) and some of the remote hospitals in the state,” he said.
He said this to reporters after officiating at the National Information Dissemination Centre (NADI) Batu Kawah at MJC New Township here today.
Dr Sim, who is also the Minister of Public Health, Housing and Local Government, added that Western Australia has 2.8 million people, of which two million live in Perth, while the remaining 800,000 live outside Perth in an area four times the size of Borneo.
“They even have one-bed hospitals in extremely remote areas, which is an interesting concept. Then, that is why they need the command centre, but the difference is it is complete with facilities and good internet,” he said.
He said given Sarawak’s size; it is not feasible to expect specialists to be everywhere.
Thus, the model of having the command centre could be one way to improve rural healthcare.
Dr Sim also shared that during a recent study visit to Perth, Canberra and Brisbane, it was noticed that there was a budget and staffing gaps compared to Australian hospitals.
“Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital has 1,000 beds – same as SGH – but a RM5-billion annual budget compared to SGH’s RM750 million.
“They have 1,500 doctors while we have 700, yet our emergency departments see the same 90,000 patients annually,” he said.
However, he said Sarawak has contributed a lot on its research output by conducting a total of 155 clinical trials.
“This shows Sarawak is a glass half full. We may lack resources compared to Australia, but in some areas, we are contributing,” he said.
He then said the Australian model, where the state governments run hospitals with federal funding, is feasible.
“Royal Brisbane is funded by Queensland State Government; Royal Perth Hospital is funded by the Western Australian State Government.
“So, these are part of the reasons why we do the study visit. And under the health autonomy, we say that healthcare, we want it to come under Sarawak Government and funded by federal government,” he said.
He also stressed that demanding healthcare autonomy for Sarawak under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) must be achieved in stages.
“If you hand over everything today, we will also struggle – we might not have enough doctors. So, there must be a roadmap,” he said.
Dr Sim said the twice-yearly MA63 meeting on health autonomy with the Health Minister are part of this process.
“The next one is set for Monday, followed by a MA63 Technical Committee meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof on August 18, and the yearly MA63 Committe meeting chaired by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, in Kuching on September 12,” said Dr Sim.
“So, maybe we can look into this with Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA).
“The idea could be piloted in Sarawak, either at private (hospitals), Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) and some of the remote hospitals in the state,” he said.
He said this to reporters after officiating at the National Information Dissemination Centre (NADI) Batu Kawah at MJC New Township here today.
Dr Sim, who is also the Minister of Public Health, Housing and Local Government, added that Western Australia has 2.8 million people, of which two million live in Perth, while the remaining 800,000 live outside Perth in an area four times the size of Borneo.
“They even have one-bed hospitals in extremely remote areas, which is an interesting concept. Then, that is why they need the command centre, but the difference is it is complete with facilities and good internet,” he said.
He said given Sarawak’s size; it is not feasible to expect specialists to be everywhere.
Thus, the model of having the command centre could be one way to improve rural healthcare.
Dr Sim also shared that during a recent study visit to Perth, Canberra and Brisbane, it was noticed that there was a budget and staffing gaps compared to Australian hospitals.
“Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital has 1,000 beds – same as SGH – but a RM5-billion annual budget compared to SGH’s RM750 million.
“They have 1,500 doctors while we have 700, yet our emergency departments see the same 90,000 patients annually,” he said.
However, he said Sarawak has contributed a lot on its research output by conducting a total of 155 clinical trials.
“This shows Sarawak is a glass half full. We may lack resources compared to Australia, but in some areas, we are contributing,” he said.
He then said the Australian model, where the state governments run hospitals with federal funding, is feasible.
“Royal Brisbane is funded by Queensland State Government; Royal Perth Hospital is funded by the Western Australian State Government.
“So, these are part of the reasons why we do the study visit. And under the health autonomy, we say that healthcare, we want it to come under Sarawak Government and funded by federal government,” he said.
He also stressed that demanding healthcare autonomy for Sarawak under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) must be achieved in stages.
“If you hand over everything today, we will also struggle – we might not have enough doctors. So, there must be a roadmap,” he said.
Dr Sim said the twice-yearly MA63 meeting on health autonomy with the Health Minister are part of this process.
“The next one is set for Monday, followed by a MA63 Technical Committee meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof on August 18, and the yearly MA63 Committe meeting chaired by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, in Kuching on September 12,” said Dr Sim.