Pontian Municipal Council urged to restore proposed new hospital site

PONTIAN: While Pontian has transformed into a modern town, its hospital remains an old building.
With 120 beds, the hospital built in 1917 can hardly cope with the rising population there.
However, the proposed site for a new hospital is missing from the latest Pontian district Draft Local Plan displayed in November.
Pekan Nanas lawmaker Yeo Tung Siong voiced residents' worries as the population of the district is expected to reach 230,740 in 2030.
During a press conference here, he said the new hospital site was already in the 2002-2015 Local Plan, with an area of 9 hectares.
However, the site has become a residential and industrial area in the Pontian district Draft Local Plan 2030, which held a public display last month.
Yeo said Pontian and Tanjung Piai Pakatan Harapan have submitted objections, demanding the Pontian Municipal Council to restore the site for the proposed new hospital.
He added that the town is in critical need of a new hospital as the electrical appliances and facilities in the current hospital is too old and upgrading work for the old building is costly.
According to Yeoh, there have been complaints of extra beds being placed in the corridor of the hospital and some patients in need of quarantine were placed in an unused surau building near the mortuary.
It is learnt that about 10 patients are sent to the Sultanah Aminah Hospital in Johor Baru daily for further treatment as some specialist medical services are not provided in the hospital, such as orthopaedic treatment.