Rural health issues identified by the SME Expedition series - Hanifah

LAWAS, 14 September: The Ministry of Health (MoH) Tour series will continue to get a real picture of health needs at the root level especially in rural Sarawak.

Deputy Minister of Health, Dato Hanifah Hajar Taib said that a down-the-field approach is essential to ensure the real issues facing society can be identified and action taken as needed.

According to Hanifah, information in written reports sometimes does not fully describe the actual situation in an area.

He said the direct visit would allow SMEs to assess the challenges they face, including geographical factors, access to facilities and local health needs.

"The reality is that if we look at it, one of the drawbacks is that the reports in the paper don't give the exact picture needed at the actual location. So we also want to understand what constraints include in terms of geographical structure, in terms of access and distance from one place to nearby facilities. SMEs need to look at the whole", he said.

Hanifah said this to the media after the Lawas Hospital Project Delivery Meeting from Ministry of Public Works Malaysia to KKM at Baharu Lawas Hospital building, today.

Meanwhile, he assured that the need for a CT scan machine at New Old Hospital will also be taken into consideration.

He said KKM will also assess the need for health clinic facilities in Samalaju, at the request of Deputy Prime Minister Sarawak, Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan.

The move, he said, was seen as important to ensure that the health needs of workers and residents in industrial areas with a population density exceeding 10,000 people could be addressed. -TVS