PENAMPANG: Sabah needs more allocation and facilities so that the quality of healthcare services in the state can catch up with others in the country.
Parti Warisan president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said he appreciated the announcement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim yesterday on the government's efforts to transform Queen Elizabeth II Hospital (HQE II) here into a heart specialist centre known as the Sabah Heart Centre.
Anwar also said that an RM80 million allocation would be given to improve the hospital's infrastructure, buy new equipment and train an additional three heart specialists.
At present, there are only three cardiologists and 120 supporting staff at the hospital.
It is learnt that the HQE II cardiology unit was set up in 2010 and its equipment were due to be replaced.
On average, the daily cost of hiring 1,000 workers at the hospital is about RM180,000 to RM200,000. A cardiologist's salary could reach up to RM25,000 per month.
The Society for Sabah Heart Fund stated that there were about 300,000 patients suffering from congenital heart disease in the state.
"I appreciate the attention given and the money allocated (for the Sabah Heart Centre), but we need more than that," said Shafie.
"There are about four million people in Sabah. In Kota Kinabalu and surrounding areas, there are more than one to two million people, but there are only three cardiologists.
"We don't have cardiologists in Keningau, Sandakan, Tawau and Lahad Datu," he told the media after a walkabout at Buhavan Square in Donggongon.
Shafie, who is a former chief minister, said Sabah was also in need of more hospitals.
He said other states, including Kelantan, would have many choices of public and private healthcare services.
"In Sabah, if there are any casualties and illnesses, they have to be brought in either by road or by plane. But along the way, some people die," he said, adding that Sabah should have new hospitals built in Papar and Sandakan to cater the increasing population.
