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KUALA LUMPUR – The Health Ministry has begun drawing up plans to resolve the issue of overcrowding in emergency and trauma departments, said Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa.
Dr Zaliha said the ministry was also looking at all the latest data, and conducting audits and research on workloads and overcrowding nationwide, especially in specialist hospitals.
“Efforts to overcome this issue must involve various quarters and stakeholders. To find the specific problems and needs of each state, the ministry will hold engagement sessions with relevant stakeholders, including the emergency departments themselves, Malaysian Medical Association, Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia, and private sector.
“This is very important because a more holistic approach is needed to deal with this based on more specific data and information,” she said in a statement today.
Dr Zaliha said MoH was consistently working to address the issue by holding discussions and requesting funds and additional staff from the government to overcome lack of allocation and shortage of manpower, equipment, and infrastructure.
“At the same time, MoH has implemented various initiatives to improve the efficiency of handling patients,” she said.
Dr Zaliha said the overcrowding issue had also been reported in the Auditor-General’s Report 2018 published on June 24, 2019, which stated that the identified causes of congestion were insufficient allocations, shortages of health personnel, and lack of facilities to meet patients’ needs.
The issue is not only faced by emergency and trauma departments, but has also affected outpatient clinics, inpatient wards, and health clinics.
Dr Zaliha said other countries faced similar issues, noting the International Federation of Emergency Medicine had said, based on a survey of 41 member countries in November 2022, that all of them had reported the issue in their respective emergency departments.
Meanwhile, she said the ministry would also look at strategic collaboration with the private sector, including general medical practitioners, to further strengthen primary healthcare.
“Collaboration will be able to reduce patient attendance at emergency departments and health clinics,” she said.
Dr Zaliha also reminded all parties that the emergency and trauma departments function to treat individuals in real need of emergency care.
“As such, MoH will work with the related agencies to intensify awareness campaigns about the primary purpose of the emergency department,” she added. – Bernama, December 26, 2022