Kota Kinabalu: A total of 36 new haemodialysis machines have been supplied to hospitals in the Kota Kinabalu Zone Hospital Cluster, ensuring sufficient facilities to serve 1,057 kidney patients in the area.
Community Development and People’s Wellbeing Minister, Datuk James Ratib, said the State Government’s initiative aims to improve patient care while replacing outdated or malfunctioning units.
“The addition of these machines will help ease treatment challenges and reduce patients’ reliance on expensive private hospital services. Faulty units can also be replaced immediately with the new ones,” he said.
He was speaking at a press conference after officiating the Handing-Over Ceremony of Hemodialysis Machines to Health Facilities in the Kota Kinabalu Zone Cluster at Queen Elizabeth I Hospital, Friday.
James, who also serves as State Health Exco, said the machines were distributed as follows: Queen Elizabeth Hospital (8 units), Sabah Women and Children’s Hospital (6), Ranau Hospital (4), Kota Belud Hospital (6), Papar Hospital (4) and Tuaran Hospital (4).
According to him, the cluster currently records 1,057 kidney patients, comprising 417 undergoing hemodialysis and 640 on Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis (CAPD).
In total, 192 hemodialysis machines are available, with 178 in operation and 14 reported faulty.
“Dialysis patients are exempted from service fees, while CAPD patients who perform treatment at home are given a subsidy of about RM100 for water supply,” he said.
On overall capacity, James assured that the existing stock, including 100 units recently contributed by the State Government, is still adequate to meet hospital needs across all zones.
