28 major hospitals record under 8-hour wait for ward admission

KUALA LUMPUR: As of June, 28 out of 39 major hospitals reported an average waiting time of less than eight hours for ward admission from emergency departments, according to Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad. This improvement marks a positive change from 2025, when 55.26 percent of the involved hospitals had an average bed waiting time of less than 480 minutes.

Among the 94 of 103 hospitals, including minor specialist and non-specialist hospitals, 94 recorded an average bed waiting time of less than 240 minutes. Responding to a question from Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun about the number of government hospitals still experiencing emergency department congestion and the measures taken to address the issue, Dzulkefly outlined several initiatives by the ministry.

The ministry introduced an outsourcing initiative in 2024, benefiting over 50,000 patients across 75 Health Ministry hospitals. To address short-term and medium-term challenges, the ministry is strengthening patient flow management through the Lean Healthcare initiative, which encompasses bed management units, dedicated waiting areas for discharge patients, and enhancements to day-care units.

Additionally, cluster hospitals and service networks have been established to enable the sharing of specialist expertise, equipment, and bed capacity across nearby hospitals. The ministry also aims to expand the role of health clinics in managing stable cases and chronic diseases to bolster primary healthcare. In the long term, the ministry intends to undertake targeted improvements to infrastructure, physical capacity, and human resources via phased facility upgrading, renovation, and expansion projects.