JOHOR BARU: The first-class ward at Malaysia’s second busiest public hospital, which has been closed the past eight months for upgrading work, will only be reopened in 2025.
All patients requiring admission at Hospital Sultanah Aminah (HSA) are being sent to the general wards.
“The ongoing upgrading work, which started in November 2022, includes improving the electrical, mechanical and fire suppression systems.
“As such, the building and first-class ward will be unavailable for the time being.
“The project is slated for completion in July 2025,” Johor health and unity committee chairman Ling Tian Soon told The Star.
He said all patients were now placed in general wards regardless of their entitlement to the first class ward.
“The only difference now would be in the meals served,” he added.
This means that the patient, if he had originally been entitled to first class, would now stay at the general ward but be given first-class meals.
According to Ling, patients in the first-class ward would usually have one-bed or two-bed facilities with air-conditioning.
The second-class wards would normally have four beds while the third-class wards have eight to 30 beds, depending on the medical speciality.
He said patients had been understanding about the current situation when it was explained to them.
“This does not affect the care and attention given to patients as the Health Ministry strives to provide the best healthcare service to the people,” he added.
As such, he said that there had been minimal complaints.
Ling also said that the hospital’s first-class ward operations were first put on a temporary halt in March 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic began.
This was due to insufficient beds and staff at the time, he said.
“When the Covid-19 situation in the state gradually improved in early 2022, the hospital reopened its first-class facilities to eligible patients such as civil servants and retired civil servants.
“However, the first-class ward, as well as the whole L&D (labour and delivery) building, was closed again a few months later to allow for an upgrading project.”
Ling said that HSA has 1,206 beds and occupancy was always at full capacity.
This is why there is a need for an ‘HSA 2’ to be built to reduce the congestion at the hospital, he added.
HSA, built in 1938 and known as General Hospital Johor Baru then, is the second busiest public hospital in the country after Hospital Kuala Lumpur.
According to HSA’s 2021 annual report, the hospital saw to 470,071 outpatients and 88,598 patients admitted in 2021.
On July 18, Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz said a special committee would be formed to discuss the construction of HSA 2 and a site in Skudai had been earmarked for it.
In October 2016, six intensive care patients perished in a fire that broke out at HSA, triggering calls from the public for an upgrade to the hospital’s facilities.
