Residents in Kinabatangan call for the upgrade of the hospital. – Bernama photo
KINABATANGAN (Nov 10): Residents in Kinabatangan wants whoever is elected as their elected representative in the 15th General Election (GE15) to look into their needs for better public health infrastructure and facilities, including upgrading of the Kinabatangan Hospital to a specialist hospital.
Most of the residents, when interviewed by Bernama, were of the opinion that the hospital should be upgraded as a specialist hospital so that the people in Kinabatangan can have access to treatment by specialists without having to be referred to the Duchess of Kent Hospital in Sandakan.
A security guard, Mohd Sulaimi Misran, 26, from Kampung Batu Lapan said, most of the residents in Kinabatangan in need of specialist treatment will be sent to the Duchess of Kent Hospital, which is about 90 kilometres away or about one hour and 30 minutes drive.
“I have the experience of sending my father, who is suffering from TB, for treatment when he was referred to a specialist doctor in Sandakan. He was warded for 13 days. I have no family in Sandakan and have to go back and forth to Kinabatangan…. very far. It really a toll on me, in terms of the expenses incurred.
“Therefore, it is absolutely necessary to upgrade the Kinabatangan Hospital to a specialist hospital),” he told Bernama.
Another resident, who requested to be identified only as Nabila, 37, from Kampung Batu Puteh, also expressed the same hope.
The mother of two said it is time for Kinabatangan Hospital to be upgraded to a specialist hospital to ensure the welfare of the people in the district, especially the less affordable.
“Kinabatangan Hospital needs to be expanded and its health facilities to be improved. This hospital should also be a specialist hospital with the increase in the population in the district.
“Currently, there is no specialist doctor (at Kinabatangan Hospital) and patients at risk are sent to Sandakan for further treatment. This poses problems for some of us, in terms of finance, transportation and accommodation because the distance from Kinabatangan to Sandakan is not near,” said Nabila, who is a businesswoman.
For Masnila Isran, 32, she expressed the need for Kinabatangan Hospital to have a gynaecologist and an obstetrician to handle cases involving pregnancy and childbirth.
She recalled the time when she gave birth to her first child in 2018, Masnila said due to her condition, she was referred to Sandakan as there was no caesarean specialist at Kinabatangan Hospital.
“The place is far and involves a lot of expenses,” said the woman, who is now in her late stage of pregnancy with her second child.
Kinabatangan Hospital has an area of approximately 14 hectares with the hospital building area covering 2.03 hectares, it was built at a cost of RM23 million and started operating in July 1999.
Kinabatangan, which covers an area of 3,797 hectares, has a total of 198,100 residents including three State Legislatures (DUNs) namely Kuamut DUN, Lamag DUN and Sukau DUN. In this GE15, the Kinabatangan parliamentary seat saw a one-on-one competition between Sabah National Front Chairman Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin, who has also held the seat for five terms since 1999, and Mazliwati Abd Malek from Parti Waris.
The Kinabatangan Hospital was built at a cost of RM23 million and began operation in July 1999.
Kinabatangan, with a population of 198,100 people, consists of three state constituencies, namely Kuamut, Lamag and Sukau.
In GE15, the contest for the Kinabatangan parliamentary seat will witness a straight fight between Sabah Barisan Nasional chairman Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin, who is the incumbent since winning the seat in 1999, and Mazliwati Abd Malek, from Parti Warisan. – Bernama