DUNGUN, The new Dungun Hospital building, which will become operational on Oct 1, is set to improve the quality of healthcare services for the 190,000 residents in the district, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.

He said the construction of the hospital, at RM153 million and completed last June, aimed to upgrade the existing Dungun Hospital from a Non-Specialist Hospital to a Minor Specialist Hospital.

“The existing hospital is a Non-Specialist Hospital, so it is not equipped with an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and an operating theatre, causing complex cases to be referred to Kemaman Hospital as the ‘lead hospital’ for the South Terengganu cluster.

‘There are also cases referred to Sultanah Nur Zahirah Hospital in Kuala Terengganu. So the construction of the new hospital, which has been upgraded to become a Minor Specialist Hospital, involves 11 areas of expertise including General Medicine; General Surgery; Pediatrics; Dental and Orthopedic,” he said.

He told reporters this at the handing
over of the Dungun Hospital, Kota Putera Health Clinic(Type Three) and Paya Datu Health Clinic (Type Seven) here today.

Dzulkefly said the new Dungun Hospital building, which is located about two kilometres from the old building, is capable of increasing the capacity of the number of beds to 218 beds, four operating theatres and six ICU beds, as well as equipped with advanced and up-to-date medical facilities.

Meanwhile, he said the Kota Putera Health Clinic Project (Type Three) in Besut will start operating this Sept 2 to replace the existing clinic which was closed last July.

He said the new clinic, costing RM32.4 million, offered 27 service scopes including outpatient services as well as chronic disease treatment, maternal and child health care in addition to several new services such as virtual clinics and rehabilitation services.

“This new health clinic can accommodate up to 500 patients in a day, compared to between 300 to 400 patients in the old clinic.

‘In addition to being able to significantly
reduce congestion, the clinic also allows patients to receive services more quickly and comfortably,” he said.

He said the Paya Datu Health Clinic in Kuala Terengganu will be operational on Oct 1.

The Type Seven health clinic that replaces the Paya Datu Village Clinic offers a more comprehensive service which is the Outpatient Unit; Maternal and Child Health Unit; Emergency Services; and pharmacy.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency