Ministry serious in addressing domestic violence issues: Poon
Published on: Friday, November 22, 2019
By: Sherell Jeffrey
Kota Kinabalu: HEALTH and People’s Wellbeing Minister Datuk Frankie Poon said his Ministry, through the Sabah Department of Welfare Services and the Department of Women Affairs, takes serious view in addressing domestic violence issues.He said according to statistics, the number of domestic violence cases in Sabah until September 2019 is at 33.
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He said these cases received protection orders and given ongoing counselling.
Poon said this in response to Likas when winding up his speech on the proposed State Budget, Wednesday.
He told the August House that the State Department of Women’s Affairs also provided the Women’s Protection Home and Sabah Women’s Legal Aid Centre to assist B40 women with similar issues and issues of divorce, childcare rights, children’s living and so on.
On the proposal by Tanjung Batu regarding the establishment of a Local Women’s Center, he said his Ministry takes note of the proposal however the Wisma Wanita which began operations in 2009 provides facilities such as meeting rooms, training rooms, Ballroom Halls and programmatic equipment for women’s associations and NGOs to hold activities at a fixed rate.
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To answer questions from Kemabong regarding the work of upgrading the physical structure of health clinics in Kemabong area, he said health services are being continuously enhanced through the provision of new medical equipment and medical equipment.
As for the revival of Flying Doctor services, he said the service has resumed since Sept 4, adding those services cater to remote villages and areas not accessible via land or sea.
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He also said Ranau Hospital is a specialist hospital with 110 beds, adding that average Occupancy Rate for 2019 is only 51.4 per cent. This means that only half the hospital beds are used at a time.
“However, the Sabah State Department of Health is constantly monitoring the need for new hospitals for service development,” he said when responding to a question from Paginatan.
He said referral of patients to Kota Kinabalu Hospital is not due to a full ward or lack of hospital space but due to early detection of specific diseases that require intensive care and referral services at the referral centre.
To answer questions from Tanjung Batu about placing a mammogram machine at Tawau Hospital, he said the need for a mammogram facility has been incorporated into the scope of the new Tawau Hospital clinical building project scheduled to be completed by the end of 2020. Regarding the provision of parking at the Tanjung Batu Rural Clinic, he said the 0.25-acre clinic area was found to be unable to accommodate additional development work.
He added, however, the Ministry is looking for a larger space with ample parking.
On upgrades to Nabawan health clinic, he said currently upgrading services especially haemodialysis services are only available in hospitals, thus the Ministry through the Health Department on Nov 18 has implemented the first haemodialysis service in Sabah at the Nabawan Health Clinic.
He said this has reduced the need for Nabawan patients to receive such services at Keningau Hospital.
He said clinics in Panganangan, Pagalungan and Sapulut located in the Nabawan constituency received funding in 2017 for upgrading of solar hybrid generator set construction.
“Plans to upgrade the buildings will be implemented in phases,” he said.
To answer questions from Balung in relation to the Type 6 Health Clinic upgrade project, he said it has now received the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) approval under Tenth Malaysia Plan with costs RM 10 million.
However, the project was postponed due to an increase in the overall cost of the project and the 3.3-acre site being insufficient for construction work as the existing clinic building. He said the additional 3-acre site that has been provided would help accelerate the approval of the project by the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
To answer questions from Klias on upgrading of the Klias Scheme Rural Clinic, he said the clinic is being built on the site of an individual landowner.
Therefore, the proposal to upgrade the clinic requires relocation of the site. He however, assured that the quality of health services is constantly being improved to ensure the health and well-being of the people.
On the proposal to build a village clinic in Ulu Membakut, he said the construction of the Rural Clinic is now being continued but replaced with the Health Clinic.
The proposed Health Clinic will also be considered if the appropriate land area is at least 1.5 acres.
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