KAPIT: A long-term plan to build a new hospital in Kapit is in the pipeline to meet rising demand for health care in the region.
Deputy Health Minister II Aaron Ago Dagang said a suitable site had been identified for the construction of the new hospital but there were many things that needed to be done to acquire the land.
“This is a long-term plan for the Kapit Division and is still at the planning stage, there is no action plan yet, but the site has been identified on land owned by the Federal Government… we hope we will get the land,” he told reporters while visiting Kapit Health Clinic here, today.
The site in question is the former Kapit airport which is seen as an appropriate and strategic location for the construction of the new hospital and the Health Ministry need to get in touch with many parties such as the Transport Ministry to acquire the land.
He said the current population of Kapit is 120,000 and is expected to increase in the next three to four years, hence the Kapit Hospital would be unable to accommodate large numbers of patients as it has a capacity of only 134 beds.
The hospital, which is a referral hospital for patients from Song, Kapit, Bukit Mambong, Belaga, Nanga Merit and Sungai Asap districts, also faces shortage of health staff and other issues such as parking and dilapidated residential quarters. – Bernama
