KUALA LUMPUR: Seventy-five or 10.9 per cent of operating theatres (OTs) in Malaysia are not functioning at an optimum level, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.
"There are 690 OTs at hospitals under the ministry with at least one OT in each of the hospitals (with the facility).
"There are 149 hospitals and healthcare institutions under the Health Ministry, of which 124 of them are equipped with OTs," he said in parliament reply in response to a question from Senator Dr Lingeshwaran R. Arunasalam.
He attributed this to the lack of staff and equipment, adding that OT must meet specific standards to ensure surgeries are conducted safely and properly.
He said they included basic anesthesia and surgical equipment, as well as a minimum number of staff such as nurses, medical officers, anesthetists and surgeons.
To address this issue, Dzulkefly said, the ministry is implementing the replacement of essential OT equipment and upgrades in phases.
In addition, he said the 'cluster hospital' concept is implemented through coordination of OT usage among the hospitals in the clusters.
"Specialists, medical officers, nurses and other healthcare staff will be deployed to any hospitals in the cluster according to the scheduled surgeries.
"This can enhance the use of OTs at hospitals that have no specialists."