SHAH ALAM: Hospital (HSAS), which is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, is poised to become a world-class medical facility.
HSAS was an initiative by the Federal Government to assist Shah Alam residents, especially the less fortunate, by offering quality medical care and treatment at affordable rates.
Prior to this, residents had to travel to Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang to seek treatment. It should be noted that the government’s healthcare service is one of the best in the world. Its hospitals charge reasonably lower fees compared with their private counterparts.
HSAS started operations in January 2016.
The hospital offers 15 clinical services, including emergency care, general medicine, general surgery, general paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, orthopaedic, ophthalmology, psychiatry and otorhinolaryngology (ENT), as well as physical and rehabilitation medicine.
It also offers anaesthesiology (operation theatre, intensive care unit and high-dependency ward), oral surgery, dental paediatrics, diagnostic and imaging services.
It houses a pathology department and a blood bank.
Shah Alam Hospital director Datin Paduka Dr Hasni Hanapi said: “In 2016, 153,886 outpatients were treated and last year, the number increased by nearly 30 per cent, with outpatient arrivals reaching 221,425.
“The hospital received 2,169 inpatients when it first opened, and we saw a sharp increase to 27,515 people when we commenced operations in 2016,” she told the New Straits Times Press.
Dr Hasni said the increase showed that people, especially those in the Petaling district, had waited a long time for such a medical facility.
“The hospital is the only hospital in the district, and there are two million residents in Petaling.”
She said the hospital had 1,375 staff, including 52 specialists, 228 doctors and medical officers, 511 nurses.
The hospital, she said, had adopted the cluster hospital concept, which combined specialist district hospitals through the sharing of resources with Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital and Banting Hospital.
Dr Hasni said HSAS offered retinal treatment, a service rarely offered in other hospitals.
“We have two specialist in this field. We have patients from other states as well as VIPs seeking treatment here.
“We also offer rehabilitation services. The hospital has hydrotherapy pools for those recovering from stroke, nerve injuries and (cerebral) palsy,” she said.
Many people have likened the services to that of its private counterparts.
It received positive feedback from residents, especially those at the maternity and children’s wards.
Dr Hasni said an average of 900 babies were born in a month at the hospital, which has 20 maternity wards.
She said the ward was husband friendly where a patient’s husband could provide support and be with his wife during delivery.
“The children’s ward has murals paintings to soothe children so that they are not afraid during their stay at the hospital.
“Parents do not have to worry about their children’s education during the course of treatment because we have a revision room for kids to do their reading, exercise or homework.”