Construction of new hospital in Balik Pulau will reduce congestion at HPP

BALIK PULAU: The construction of a new larger hospital, complete with the specialist services and equipment in the Barat Daya district here, will be able to reduce congestion at Penang Hospital (HPP).
Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya (pix) said the existing hospital, which only has 81 beds without specialist services, was not able to accommodate patients in the area that has a population density of more than 310,000 people.
"The population in this district is very large and requires a large hospital with at least 300 beds (complete with equipment and specialists)," he told reporters after a dialogue session on Aspirations of the 2050 National Health Transformation (TN50) at the Balik Pulau Polytechnic here, today.
Regarding the proposed construction of a new hospital, he said the state government had offered a piece of land of over 40ha near the Mara Junior Science College Balik Pulau as a location for the facility.
About the TN50 dialogue today, Dr Hilmi said he was very satisfied with the participation and all the aspirations expressed by the various parties will be forwarded to the Prime Minister.
The two-and-a-half hour long dialogue session with Dr Hilmi and Medical Development director Datuk Dr Azman Abu Bakar was attended by more than 2,800 participants, including employees of the Ministry of Health and NGOs. — Bernama