The long wait for a multi-level carpark at SGH continues

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KUCHING: The government has initiated talks with several companies regarding the proposed multi-level carpark for Sarawak General Hospital (SGH), but no work seems to have taken place thus far.

Stampin MP Julian Tan said the project was promised by the government a few elections ago, but a parliamentary reply he received last week stated that “talks were in progress”.

“Building a multi-level carpark in SGH is a long pending project. I have raised this issue multiple times in Parliament, and the best answer I got was that it would start in June 2014.

“However, this is already 2015.

“I had requested for details of planned milestone for the project, companies involved, contracts given and deadlines. When I recently raised the issue again, Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya said the carpark problem was faced by the whole country, and they agreed to look into it even though the government had already initiated talks with companies.

“I am not satisfied with this answer because no details have been provided. SGH is the centre for medical care in Sarawak.

“We can only imagine how crowded it is with the current infrastructure,” he told a news conference at DAP Stampin Service Centre here.

Tan said he had visited SGH a few times during late hours. He observed family members had to sleep along the corridor outside the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) because they could not afford daily accommodation (the cheapest at RM80 per day), transportation, and supplies for the stay.

He, however, lauded the hospital staff for a good job on making the place as comfortable and clean as possible for the patients’ family members.

Although a small air-conditioned room is provided, it is not enough, which is why many people have to sleep outside the room.

“To make things worse, there are only one or two toilets available for the general public. At times, the toilet is either out of service or in poor condition.

“I have brought up similar issues in Parliament before. Why is the company being awarded the contract not doing the job properly? What is the cost of maintenance?”