Poon (second from right), Dr Christina and Janet visiting one of the hospitals.
KOTA KINABALU: Health and People’s Well-being Minister Datuk Frankie Poon said steps were being taken to try and address the lack of parking at several district hospitals in the state.
He disclosed that among the proposals was the construction of a multi-storey car park building at each of the hospitals.
While this may not fully resolve the parking problem, it can at least improve the situation, said Poon after visiting the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) and the Women and Children’s Hospital in Likas, to view for himself the extent of the traffic issue including the parking problems, as well as the sites of the proposed multi-storey carpark.
He was accompanied by the ministry’s permanent secretary Datuk Janet Chee, Sabah Health Department director Datuk Dr Christina Rundi and the hospital officials.
“I hope to be able to implement the proposal soon,” he said, adding that out of the hospitals in Sabah that are most in need of additional parking lots includes QEH, Sandakan Duchess of Kent Hospital and the Women and Children’s Hospital, Likas.
In the case of QEH, Poon said that there are about 4,000 staff there – doctors, nurses, medical staff and intern doctors and nurses, of whom 75 per cent to 85 per cent drive to work.
However, there are only 1,280 parking spaces in QEH while the two-storey covered car park there can only accommodate about 300 vehicles, he disclosed and lamented that the parking space cannot meet the demand of the public.
“Even the medical staff have to take e-hailing transportation to work. It is obvious that there is a serious shortage of parking spaces. As for the motorcycles, there is no problem,” he said.
Poon had informed Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng and the Health Ministry’s Secretary General Datuk Seri Dr Chen Chaw Min of the issue and hoped that the federal government would allocate funds to the Sabah Health Ministry to implement the proposal as soon as possible.