RM10 million to upgrade Kajang Hospital

The Health ministry has set aside RM10 million to enhance existing facilities and equipment at the Kajang Hospital, said its minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam. Describing the allocation as a short term solution, he said the amount would be spent on acquiring more beds and equipment, and improving the service facilities and wiring system at the hospital aged 125 years. The 326-bed hospital which has a workforce of 1003 including 35 specialists, 70 medical officers and 120 housemen was built in 1889 on a 6.47-hectare site. Dr Subramaniam also noted that Kajang residents as well as the hospital's management division, preferred to have a new hospital that would not only be equipped with state of the art facilities but also strategically located. "I accept their views and have explained to them that its realisation depended on the cost and sufficient allocation, as a new hospital would incur between RM800 million and RM1 billion to build. "I will bring the matter to the prime minister's attention and the Economic Planning Unit. Otherwise, the proposed construction of the six-storey additional building would still go on," he told a media conference after an unofficial visit to the hospital on Sunday.