Sarawak Needs Health Autonomy, Strengthen Cardiology Services
KUCHING: Sarawak needs autonomy in the health sector to enable the state government to plan the development of a specialist workforce more strategically, thus accelerating the expansion of cardiology services to Miri, Sibu and Bintulu to ensure access to quality treatment can be enjoyed by the people throughout the state.
Sarawak Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Professor Dr Sim Kui Hian said that the autonomy is important to empower Sarawak to determine its own training, placement and development of specialist doctors according to the needs of the state, in addition to ensuring that new health facilities can be fully operational once completed.
According to him, the construction of the Miri Satellite Heart Centre is expected to be completed within three years, but the training and development of specialist staff must begin earlier to avoid a shortage of doctors when the facility commences operation.
“We don’t want it to be a complete building, but with no doctors to provide services. This is why Sarawak needs health autonomy so our own specialist training can be planned according to the state’s needs,” he said.
He said this in a press conference in conjunction with the Borneo Cardiology Conference (BCC) 2026 here on Thursday.
Datuk Amar Dr Sim added that the successful implementation of the satellite cardiology service in Bintulu proved that the provision of health facilities closer to the people had succeeded in increasing access to treatment, particularly as the number of patients seeking the service far exceeded initial expectations.
He said that experience served as the basis for planning to further expand satellite cardiology services to Miri and Sibu.
The Minister for Public Health, Housing and Local Government also shared that Sarawak is still in need of about 2,000 more doctors based on the standards of the Ministry of Health (MOH), while each satellite heart centre requires at least three to four cardiologists to ensure that services can be provided around the clock.
He explained that the increase in heart disease driven by population aging factors as well as the increase in non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol demand a more systematic, sustainable and future-oriented health workforce planning.
Meanwhile, BCC 2026 Organising Chairman Dr Ong Tiong Kiam said that the Sarawak Heart Centre has produced about 10 per cent of all cardiologists in Malaysia, with most of them currently leading cardiology services in several states including Sabah and Perak.
He said the achievement proves that the expertise developed in Sarawak not only benefits the people of this state, but also contributes to the development of the nation’s cardiology services.
He also explained that a new group of cardiologists will begin training this August in preparation to fill the service requirements at Miri and Sibu Satellite Heart Centres when the two facilities are completed. -UKASnews
