Government prioritises new theatres to support surgeries during Sultanah Aminah Hospital upgrades

JOHOR BAHRU, Aug 7 — The Economy Ministry will prioritise building three to four new operating theatres at the Sultanah Aminah Hospital (HSA) while the mechanical and electrical (M&E) upgrades take place.

Its minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said the new operating theatres will complement the hospital’s existing 12 operating theatres that will also undergo part of the M&E upgrades.

“At present, HSA is undergoing the M&E upgrades and the initial plan was to temporarily move the existing operating theatres in phases by partial shutdowns.

“However, it was not possible due to technical issues and risks as the operating theatres cannot be partly closed or be temporarily moved.

“The only way is to build totally new operating theatres before replacing the old facilities in order to support the entire hospital’s M&E upgrades,” he said after a working visit to HSA here today.

Present during the working visit were Johor health director Dr Mohtar Pungut @ Ahmad and HSA director Dr Mohamad Nizam Subahir.

Akmal Nasrullah said the government will prioritise the building of the operating theatres to support ongoing surgeries and make way for the hospital’s upgrades.

“The construction of the new operating theatres will depend on the relevant agencies as there are several procedures involved.

“The ongoing M&E upgrades are part of seven upgrading projects worth RM1.139 billion that is currently being carried out at the hospital.

“The upgrades also involve the construction of an ambulatory care centre (ACC) for outpatient services which includes a multi-storey car park,” he said.

Akmal Nasrullah, who is also the Johor Bahru MP, said the government is looking to find the best approach for the upgrades at HSA.

“For now, the projects are ongoing. However, there are challenges when it comes to upgrading the hospital’s main wing. 

“We want to ensure that HSA’s services to the community can continue with minimal disruptions,” he said.

HSA serves as south Johor’s primary government medical referral centre. It accommodates more than 2,000 patients daily, with 1,203 beds.

The hospital started its early operations in 1882 as the region’s first early district hospital. The current iconic five-storey red-brick building along was built later in 1938 to replace that original site.

On the overall development of infrastructure development projects in Johor, Akmal Nasrullah said that since 2000, there have been 613 development projects implemented in the state involving a value of RM56.12 billion.

He added that this included 154 new projects and 459 extension projects, with a ceiling expenditure of RM4.95 billion this year.

“The current expenditure in Johor has exceeded half, which is 50.51 per cent as of July, and equates to RM2.5 billion,” he said.