JOHOR BARU: Patients will soon be able to enjoy a shorter waiting time for elective surgery with the opening of Hospital Pasir Gudang (HPG) in August, says Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.

The Health Minister said the hospital, located in Bandar Seri Alam, Johor Baru, is expected to reduce the bed occupancy rate of Hospital Sultanah Aminah (HSA) in the city centre by at least 10%.

“HPG is also expected to reduce the waiting time for elective surgery at HSA by about 30% in the first two years of operations.

“HSA and Hospital Sultan Ismail in Johor Baru are stretched and congested, so HPG is a timely addition to the public healthcare system in this part of the state,” he said after witnessing the handover of HPG from the Works Ministry to the Health Ministry yesterday.

He added that the new HPG, which will open in phases starting Aug 1, is expected to be fully operational by July next year.

Impressive addition: Dzulkefly (second from left) visiting one of the operating theatres at the newly opened Hospital Pasir Gudang in Johor Baru. — Bernama

The first phase makes up 30% of the facility’s overall capacity.

It is the eighth major public hospital in Johor, offering 14 specialist disciplines, including general surgery, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology.

It also provides healthcare workers’ quarters, Dzulkefly said.

He said HPG is also equipped with 20 units of on-call suites for doctors – a first in the country’s public healthcare facilities – in a bid to boost their welfare and morale.

“The new hospital, which was completed on time with cooperation from the relevant government agencies, is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities.

“It is also my ministry’s trophy asset and should be made a benchmark for its future healthcare projects,” he added.

The minister said HPG will have a total workforce of 1,845 at full capacity, where 274 of the vacancies have been filled.

Dzulkefly added that the government is facing a “chronic issue” involving shortage of nurses.

As such, he said continuous steps are being taken to address the matter, including increasing the number of nurse trainees to 1,000.

“Supplying brick and mortar is no longer the main challenge in public healthcare. It’s the human resources aspect of it,” he said.

“This is a global issue. Even the Philippines, which used to supply nurses, is facing a shortage.”

Asked about the recent formation of a joint ministerial committee involving the finance and healthcare ministries, Dzulkefly said it will produce a new ecosystem to tackle rising healthcare costs and medical inflation.

“The committee, co-chaired by Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan and myself, also includes representatives from private hospitals, healthcare professionals, insurance and Takaful providers and advocacy groups.

“A meeting had been conducted recently and we have formed several working groups to handle the related issues,” he said.

In a joint ministerial statement released on June 24, it said the committee will provide a dedicated platform for industry players to work together and contribute their expertise towards the government’s shared goal of ensuring affordable and accessible private healthcare for all Malaysians.

Meanwhile, Dzulkefly said the Johor government’s request for an unused plot of land in the state to be used for developing affordable homes is being considered by his ministry.

On June 13, Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi said the state is looking at a plot of land in Kempas, which is owned by the Health Ministry, to build more affordable houses for the people.

Onn Hafiz said the land has not been developed for years, adding that it should be returned to the state government for that purpose.