Kulim: The Kedah Health Department has issued a formal apology to a patient whose surgery at the Kulim Hospital had been postponed thrice.
State Health Director, Dr Othman Warijo, said the department acknowledged the difficulties faced by the patient due to the delay in his surgery and promised improved services in the future.
"The department wishes to apologise to the patient and his family following the problems that occurred.
"The Kedah State Health Department and the Kulim Hospital are continuing the investigation to identify the root cause of the incident.
"Effective improvement measures will be taken to ensure similar issues do not recur and the appointment process for surgery becomes more efficient and customer-friendly," he said in a statement today.
Othman said an immediate investigation was carried out following complaints about the patient's surgery, which has been postponed thrice at the Kulim Hospital.
"The initial investigation found that the complaint was made about a male patient who had a problem with a lump on his shoulder.
"The complaints were lodged via Facebook by the patient's sister, who expressed her disappointment regarding her brother's situation on August 23.
"The patient's name was included in the elective surgery list at the hospital but his surgery was postponed several times to make way for urgent cases," he added.
He added that the management of the Kulim Hospital had contacted the complainant by phone and explained the actual situation behind the delays.
"The complainant received a thorough explanation and has agreed to delete the relevant (social media) post.
"Kulim Hospital is a major specialist hospital with three operating rooms.
"During the current service recovery period, cases requiring urgent and emergency surgery such as those related to trauma, cancer, and Caesarean surgery, as well as cases delayed during the pandemic period, will be given priority over other cases," he said.