Over 400 patients moved to government hospitals around Johor

JOHOR BAHRU: More than 400 patients have been transfered to several government hospitals around Johor following the closure of the Sultanah Aminah Hospital (HSA) main building since yesterday.

Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya said all the patients were evacuated to government hospitals, namely Sultan Ismail Hospital (HSI), Permai Hospital, Segamat Hospital, Temenggung Seri Maharaja Tun Ibrahim Hospital in Kulai, Mersing Hospital and several nearby district hospitals.

“To ensure the operation of the hospitals involved (which received HSA patients) are not affected, we also brought along the staff, specialists and medical team from here (HSA),” he told reporters here today.

Earlier Dr Hilmi visited patients and reviewed the situation at the HSA main building and South ICU, which caught fire killing six critical patients on Tuesday.

Yesterday Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam announced the immediate closure of the HSA main building, which among others, houses the  the Emergency and Trauma Department (A&E), Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and various wards to enable safety inspection works, including wiring, structures and related matters to be implemented.

The closure is expected to take between two to four weeks depending on the situation.

Dr Hilmi said so far the ministry had yet to propose transferring patients to private hospitals.

“There is still no need to transfer patients to private hospitals as government hospitals in the nearby districts can still accommodate patients from outside and it does not affect their operations,” he said.

Dr Hilmi said he was impressed with the commitment shown by all the HSA staff, including doctors and nurses who had tirelessly provided the best services to the patients.

In the 8 am fire on Tuesday, six ICU patients died and one patient was saved but sustained injuries. Two nurses and a physiotherapy trainer were injured and currently receiving treatment in HSI. – Bernama