KUCHING: A total of 214 health clinics in Sarawak have been approved to provide services under the Senior Citizen Health Benefit (SCHB) initiative, with agreements for most clinics extended until 2028.
State Women, Early Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah said 176 clinics had been approved for a two-year extension of their agreements until June 2028.
Another 33 clinics had been approved for a one-year extension until July 2027, subject to conditions, while five new clinics had been approved to participate in the programme for two years until June 2028.
She said the latest arrangements were made following discussions with healthcare institutions to review the implementation of SCHB and address issues arising during its delivery.
“On the ground, there are standard operating procedures that need to be refined, processes that need to be adjusted and implementation issues that can only be identified when an initiative is actually being carried out.
“That is part of implementation,” she said during her speech at the ‘Majlis Anugerah Perkhidmatan Cemerlang KPWK dan Agensi 2025’ event here on Friday night (Sept. 18).
The SCHB was officially implemented in July 2024, as part of Sarawak Social Welfare Department’s (JKMS) efforts to provide healthcare assistance to senior citizens.
Fatimah said the experience of running the programme had shown that effective public service delivery required coordination beyond the department itself.
She said the success of SCHB also depended on close cooperation with participating clinics and healthcare institutions.
“When we talk about public services, we cannot only look at a programme from the perspective of the ministry or department. We need to look at the entire ecosystem,” she said.
Fatimah stressed that relationships with strategic partners must be maintained, strengthened and continuously improved to ensure services could be delivered effectively.
“We cannot serve alone. That is why relationships with strategic partners need to be maintained, strengthened and continuously improved,” she added.
She said this was important to ensure that public services were not only well-planned but could also be delivered effectively to the people.
The latest extension and new approvals are part of ongoing efforts to strengthen the delivery of SCHB through a network of participating healthcare providers across Sarawak.
