SIBU: The Ministry of Health (MoH) is stepping up efforts to strengthen healthcare services in Sibu and Kanowit, with attention given to both high-demand urban primary care and healthcare access for rural and interior communities.
Deputy Health Minister Datuk Hanifah Hajar Taib recently visited healthcare facilities in both areas as part of the Borneo Health Tour Series 4 to assess their operations, facilities and service delivery.
In Sibu, Hanifah visited Jalan Oya Health Clinic, which serves as one of the key primary healthcare facilities catering to the needs of the town’s population of about 248,064.
Although classified as a Type 3 health clinic, the facility receives a high patient volume comparable to that of a Type 1 health clinic.
The clinic provides comprehensive services including outpatient treatment, maternal and child healthcare, pharmacy services, treatment procedures and emergency care as well as laboratory testing and blood collection.
Hanifah was briefed on the clinic’s operations by Jalan Oya Health Clinic head Dr Jenny Sia Euk Huong before inspecting its facilities and environment.
Meanwhile, in Kanowit, Hanifah visited Hospital Kanowit and the Kanowit District Health Office, where she was briefed on healthcare delivery across the district.
Hospital Kanowit operates as a 100-bed district hospital without specialist services and serves as a key healthcare safety net for the local community.
It provides emergency, outpatient, inpatient, surgical, haemodialysis and rehabilitation services.
The Kanowit District Health Office, meanwhile, oversees primary healthcare and disease control services for a population of about 24,700.
It supervises the Kanowit Maternal and Child Health Clinic and five health clinics in Machan, Menalun, Ngungun, Nanga Tada and Jagau.
The district’s healthcare services also cover rural health services, school health programmes as well as the prevention and control of communicable and non-communicable diseases.
The ministry assured that it remains committed to strengthening healthcare services in both Sibu and Kanowit, taking into account the different needs of urban, rural and interior communities.
In Sibu, efforts will focus on strengthening primary healthcare through improvements to facilities and sustainable support for service delivery, while in Kanowit, attention will be given to improving clinical infrastructure, filling healthcare workforce positions and strengthening logistical facilities.
These efforts are aimed at ensuring communities in both locations continue to have equitable access to quality, safe and reliable healthcare services.
