Kota Kinabalu: The State Health Department clarified that people seen sleeping in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital lobby overnight are mostly relatives and caregivers from rural and interior areas with no means of securing temporary accommodation outside the hospital.
It said in a statement that a check found those resting in the lobby and hospital corridors were not patients awaiting treatment or appointments at the Emergency and Trauma Department (ETD).
It was responding, Monday, to a viral social media post about the hospital’s conditions. “The hospital has a visitor lounge. However, it is still insufficient for the large number of family members,” the Department said, adding that the hospital understood the difficulties faced by patients’ relatives, particularly those travelling from afar.
It said it would continue to monitor the use of public spaces such as lobbies and main corridors to ensure safety, cleanliness, comfort and the smooth movement of patients, family members and hospital staff.
On waiting times at the ETD, the Department said patients are attended to based on the severity of their condition through a triage system, not solely by queue number, with critical cases given immediate priority.
On the night in question, the ETD operated as normal with a continuous patient load. In the Green Zone alone, 42 patients were recorded between 9pm and 10am, with two medical officers on duty in that zone.
The hospital canteen operates round the clock daily, except for a scheduled closure every Saturday from midnight to 5 am for cleaning.
On parking, the Department acknowledged that facilities at the hospital can become limited during periods of high patient and visitor volume, and said the hospital would continue to monitor traffic flow and parking management with the assistance of security personnel.
As improvement measures, it said it would strengthen overnight monitoring of the lobby, public corridors and waiting areas, streamline information on canteen operations and improve communication to patients and family members regarding waiting procedures and treatment priority at the ETD.
“The Department and hospital are committed to ensuring the safe, considerate and continuous delivery of health services to all patients, while continuously improving facilities and the public experience,” the statement read.
