PETALUNG JAYA: The Sarawak Health Department has refuted an assertion made by a DAP lawmaker claiming that someone seeking treatment at the Sarawak Heart Centre was forced to wait 20 hours before getting assistance from a cardiologist.
The department similarly refuted claims that the patient only got medical care following a widely shared social media post, rejecting the suggestion that no cardiologists were present when needed.
The statement mentioned that the case concerned a patient who was transferred to the Sarawak Heart Centre from a private hospital on March 28.
According to official media reports, the patient reached the Sarawak Heart Centre's emergency department at 1 am on March 29th and was quickly evaluated by an emergency medical officer at 1:10 am.
"The case was subsequently handed over to a cardiologist on duty, who was tending to another gravely ill patient. By 4:33 am, following discussions with the consulting cardiology specialist on call, the patient was moved to a specialized ward for continued care," stated the department in their release.
The report indicated that the patient was reviewed again at 9:30 am by the specialist, along with a cardiology medical officer and a group of nurses as part of the regular ward rounds.
The department mentioned that these sessions took place every day, irrespective of whether it was a public holiday or not.
On March 29, Assemblywoman Violet Yong from Pending shared a screenshot of a woman's complaint stating that her spouse had waited at the hospital for almost 20 hours without seeing a cardiologist.
The lady stated that a physician at the emergency room informed her she had to wait till Wednesday to consult with a cardiologist because it was the weekend and the Aidilfitri holiday occurred on Monday and Tuesday.
"(State Public Health Minister) Dr Sim Kui Hian, why is there not a single cardiologist at the Sarawak Heart Centre? How is it possible for a heart center to function without even one cardiologist for nearly 20 hours?" asked Yong in her Facebook post.
The Sarawak DAP organizing secretary subsequently stated in a separate posting that "a team of medical professionals" had been called to attend to the patient after "complaints made via multiple platforms."