Bera Hospital to be completed in December, to begin operation in early 2022

Ismail Sabri, who is also Bera Member of Parliament, said work on the hospital, located Bera town, is now at 98 per cent, with the remaining work involving final finishing and equipment installation.

Construction of the hospital, with a capacity of 40 beds, started on Oct 2, 2010 but the original contractor was terminated in 2012 after it was only able to complete 57 per cent of the work before another contractor was appointed in 2016.

"However, the rescue contractor was also terminated last year after encountering problems when the work was already at 93 per cent which brought to the appointment of the third contractor on January 5 this year.

"God willing, the wait of over 150,000 residents of Bera to have their own hospital will be over in January or February next year," he told a media conference after inspecting the construction of the hospital here, today.

Earlier, Ismail Sabri, was briefed on the development of the hospital's construction by Public Work Department director-general Datuk Ir Mohamad Zulkefly Sulaiman.

The delay in the construction of the hospital on a 13.3-hectare site, also caused the original cost of RM88 million to rise to RM130 million, said Ismail Sabri.

On staffing at the hospital, Ismail Sabri said it (the hospital) was expected to receive 480 health staff with quarters provided next to the main hospital building.

"We also hope the Ministry of Health (MOH) will station specialist doctors here to facilitate the people because Bera is a large district.

"The construction of this hospital will facilitate the people who are forced to go to the nearby district hospitals for health treatment such as the Temerloh Hospital.

"Or Kuala Pilah Hospital (Hospital Tengku Ampuan Najihah) to those close to the border of Negeri Sembilan," he said.

Ismail Sabri said among the facilities badly needed by the residents in the district is a dialysis unit so that kidney patients no longer need to commute distance to undergo treatment.