PETALING JAYA: Child health services in the country are in dire need of more government funding, said senior consultant paediatrician Datuk Dr Amar Singh H.S.S.
He said adult intensive care units in government facilities have better bed capacity, equipment and staffing compared with paediatric departments.
“Many lives have been lost and more will be if things remain unchanged,” he said yesterday.
“I have (frequently) heard that ‘the Health Ministry will manage with the limited funds allocated’.
“I appeal to our finance minister, for this October’s budget, don’t allocate money to build new buildings, buy highways, invest in flying cars, or continue with mega projects. Put the money where it counts ... saving the lives of babies and children.”
At least RM200 million in additional funding is needed for child health services nationwide, he added.
Amar also said the paediatric department at all government hospitals were acutely short of intensive care facilities and beds for children.
He said the neonatal intensive care units that care for premature and ill babies and the paediatric intensive care units that look after older, seriously unwell children were “grossly inadequate” to meet basic needs.
“The sad reality is we have to make painful and heart-wrenching decisions every day. Some children, especially tiny premature babies that could be (healed) and saved, are not offered care because we just don’t have the beds.”
Amar said despite many requests to the Health Ministry for expansion and growth of the facilities for children, allocations were still inadequate.
He also pointed out that there was a critical shortage of vital intensive care equipment such as incubators, monitors and ventilators.
“Much of the equipment are old, some do not function very well and fail often. Some are beyond economic repair, but we are forced to continue using them as we have a severe shortage.”
Amar said the department was also extremely short of nurses, with many children-care sections operating with only one nurse looking after three intensive care babies and children at night.
“The recommended norm is one to one. In the daytime, we can manage one nurse looking after two ill children but at night, it is a crisis. A simple analysis will show that the rate of death is much higher at night.”
Attempts to obtain comments from the Health Ministry were unsuccessful at press time.
