KOTA KINABALU: All hospitals should set up corporate communications units to interact directly with the public in a transparent manner.
Sabah Community Development and People's Wellbeing Minister Datuk Shahelmey Yahya said for instance the Health Ministry, Sabah Health Department and hospitals have their standard operating procedures (SOP) that could be explained to the public.
He was commenting on the alleged medical negligence in a stillbirth case at a hospital in Likas.
"The ministry, state Health Department and hospitals have their protocols. So, they need to adhere to the ethics (and regulations). The people also need to understand that not all information can be shared publicly.
"I have talked to the state Health director to establish corporate communications units at all hospitals to facilitate community engagement.
"These units can communicate directly to the public and explain what happened.
"This can help to prevent speculation and wild accusations related to health services," he said after the eBusKK pilot project launching ceremony at the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC) today.
Shahelmey said the incident was under investigation and urged everyone to let authorities finish the probe.
A woman recently posted on Facebook post allegations that someone had gone through a bad experience delivering a baby, which turned out to be stillborn, at a hospital in Likas.
The woman is believed to be a relative of the patient, and had demanded an investigation into the incident.
The post prompted other people to comment that they too had gone through terrible experiences at the hospital.
On another matter, Shahelmey reminded people to abide by the Covid-19 SOP following the increasing number of daily cases in Sabah.