KUCHING April 27 — The Health White Paper (HWP), which will be presented for a debate in the Parliament in June this year, should give more Sarawakians ease of access to health facilities in the state, said Deputy Premier Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian.

He said as of right now, the main issue for Sarawakians is that many are still living far away from health facilities due to geographical disposition.

"In Sarawak for example, our medical trauma team is based in Kuching only and if you have things such as motorcar accident far from Kuching, we just pray,” he said during a townhall session on the HWP held at the Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) today.

Apart from that, he also commented that the HWP should see the country’s healthcare moving from focusing solely on healthcare alone to wellness.

Hence, there is a need to build medical facilities not based on population but based on its proximity to those who are in need of it.

"They say that our country’s healthcare is doing well (due to the facilities available) but that could not be applied to Sarawak because of the distances of the location of the facilities from most of the people in the state.

"In Sarawak, the distances from Kuching to Miri for example which is the same as the North-South Highway (in Peninsular Malaysia), but in the North-South Highway there are so many trauma teams along the highway while in Sarawak there is only one trauma team which is in Kuching,” he said.

Dr Sim thus hoped that the HWP which will be presented for a debate in the Parliament in June this year will find a solution for Sarawakians who need better access to health facilities.

Meanwhile, during the townhall session, it was revealed that the HWP will outline four pillars namely transforming health service delivery, improving health promotion and disease prevention, ensuring sustainable health financing and fair and; strengthening the foundation of the health system and governance.

According to Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa who was also present at the session, the HWP is a joint effort towards providing a more fair and equitable health service system, of high quality, easy to reach at a reasonable cost and sustainable for the long term to meet the health needs of the people.

"This HWP has been developed taking into account the feedback of various stakeholders including the people to ensure that it is holistic and inclusive,” said Dr Zaliha.

She revealed that there are five things which are to be achieved through the presentation of the HWP and among them are a health system that focuses on preventive and promotional services so that the people remain healthy and prosperous.

She also commented that the HWP also wants to achieve a national health system that is loved by the people, a health system that is equitable and focuses on individual health needs, a health system that is sustainable and able to face current and future health challenges and a health system that utilises the latest technology and innovation.

"The HWP is also a national health reform plan document that outlines the main challenges faced by the health system and proposes solutions to ensure a higher quality, sustainable and resilient health system,” said Dr Zaliha.

Also present during the Townhall Session were Deputy Health Minister Lukanisman Awang Sauni, Malaysia Health director-general Datuk Dr Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan (left) and former Malaysia Medical Association president Dr Koh Kar Chai and other officials. — Borneo Post