New system causes chaos

The Johor Health Department is conducting a thorough investigation on a near-riot that occurred at the payment and registration counter of the Sultanah Fatimah Specialist Hospital in Muar. State health director Dr Selahuddeen Abdul Aziz (pictured) said he is awaiting reports of the incident after a viral video and pictures on Facebook showed patients stuck in long queues getting agitated, with some even attempting to storm the counter, forcing hospital staff to seek cover.

“The initial report that I have been given is there was congestion at the payment counter and I am still waiting for the full report on the matter.

“The incident occurred on Monday morning and I would like to thank the public for their concern on this matter. We will see what can be implemented immediately to solve the matter,” he said.

He was met by reporters after attending a blood donation drive programme at Sultanah Aminah Hospital (HSA) polyclinic, here.

Sultanah Fatimah Specialist Hospital, in a statement on Facebook, apologised, saying that the incident occurred due to the centralisation of registration for all 10 clinics at one counter.

“We did not expect this incident to happen. We will take immediate action to ensure the incident does not recur in future,” it says.

The issue had also drawn the attention of Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, who is also the Muar MP.

Syed Saddiq, in a statement, said the hospital decided to centralise registration and payment for the 10 specialist clinics due to lack of manpower.He added that the congestion forced the management to quickly revert to the old system with the nurses returning to their respective clinics.

The minister said only patients from three clinics – ophthalmology, O&G and ENT – will have to register and make payment at the centralised registration counter for now.

Source: The Star