KUALA LUMPUR: Puchong Member of Parliament Yeo Bee Yin has called on the Health Ministry (MOH) to investigate why four operating rooms at the Heart Centre, Serdang Hospital are having technical difficulties.
She expressed concern that the RM546 million facility, which was just opened in December 2022, was already facing such problems.
Citing reports from two media outlets, Yeo questioned the ministry on the accuracy of claims that the four operating rooms in the new building were non-functional.
She also pointed out that one of the operating rooms in the older section of the hospital was reportedly out of service.
"When the Heart Centre was opened, it was touted as a world-class facility for heart patients in Malaysia, meant to reduce dependence on the National Heart Institute (IJN)," Yeo said. "Yet just 18 months later, by May 2024, all four operating rooms were said to be unusable due to technical and electrical failures."
She urged the ministry to confirm the validity of the reports in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday.
Yeo also referenced a statement by Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad in June, in which he confirmed that three of the four operating rooms had resumed operation by June 5.
However, she noted that just a month after maintenance, the rooms were closed again for another three weeks on July 22.
"Puchong seeks confirmation from the minister: how many operating rooms in both the new and old wings are currently operational?" Yeo asked.
"We also want to know whether other new facilities at the Heart Centre, such as the Invasive Cardiology Laboratory (ICL) and the 3.0 Tesla MRI machine, are functioning properly."
"Most importantly, Puchong wants to ask the minister: Can such issues be accepted as the norm in Malaysia? A Heart Centre costing RM546 million facing technical problems so soon after opening?" she said.
In light of these ongoing issues, Yeo recommended that the MOH establish a "dashboard" at its headquarters to monitor not only operating rooms but also other critical hospital facilities.
"This would ensure the ministry is not just responding reactively to health facility issues when they make headlines, but is instead proactively maintaining the facilities regularly and systematically," she said.