Shah Alam Hospital to open in Sept

SHAH ALAM: After being delayed for four years and racking up a bill of RM565 million, the Shah Alam Hospital in Section 7 near i-City is set to open its doors in September.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said the hospital is 99% complete and local authorities are expected to give the necessary approvals by June to start serving patients in phases, with outpatient services being the first to open.
"Inpatient services will start in phases in November, and full services of the hospital's 14 specialties will be available by next year," Subramaniam told a press conference after a site visit.
He hopes that the hospital's completion will relieve the pressure on Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital, also known simply as the Klang Hospital, and will provide essential healthcare services to residents of the area.
Subramaniam said many hospitals have been proposed for the 11th Malaysia Plan but currently only the building contract for the Tanjong Karang Hospital has received the tender from the Works Ministry.
He said the Shah Alam Hospital will also be used as a teaching hospital for undergraduate and post-graduate medical students along with the Sungai Buloh Hospital and the Puncak Alam Hospital.
Sunshine Fleet Sdn Bhd was supposed to start work on the hospital in 2007 and it was scheduled to be completed by 2011 at a cost of RM482 million, but their contract was terminated in September 2010 as the completion rate then was only 27% despite incurring RM139.9 million in costs.
The contract to build the hospital for RM410 million was then awarded to Gadang Engineering (M) Sdn Bhd, with total cost adding up to RM565 million.
Subramaniam said the government is taking legal action against the first contractor and it was reported that a summons had been filed against the company for RM68.25 million.
On another issue, Subramaniam said it is very regrettable that Klang Hospital had to close down its cafeteria due to poor cleanliness.
"We take that as a very serious issue, the hospital is supposed to be the cleanest building and cannot be the source of illness and the spread of diseases," he said.
Subramaniam added that the Food Safety Department of the Health Ministry will be taking action against the cafeteria operator, Kasulin Sdn Bhd, while the Engineering Department will inspect the hospital's building management.