KOTA KINABALU - CHIEF Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman has given a directive for the private hospital at Wisma Khidmat to be set up as soon as possible.

He said the RM100 million (S$40 million) hospital, initiated by Sabah Credit Corporation (SCC), must be constructed immediately to alleviate the suffering of the people due to the acute shortage of medical facilities at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH).

The SCC is a financial institution fully owned by the Sabah government with the primary objective of contributing to Sabah's socio-economic development.

Musa, who is also Finance Minister, said he requested a briefing from Health Department officers on the status of the upgrading of QEH and the approved takeover of the Sabah Medical Centre.

'I am sad that there is still delay in implementing measures to overcome the lack of medical facilities, namely a well-equipped general hospital in Kota Kinabalu.

'In light of the continuing delay, I want the construction of the private hospital to proceed immediately and be completed within a year,' he told reporters after chairing a state cabinet meeting today. Although it is a private hospital, profit is not its priority.

'The lives and health of the people must come first. We realise the suffering of patients due to the congestion at QEH, and their relatives and the doctors are affected too,' he said, adding that the private hospital could accommodate at least 150 beds and equipped with an operating theatre.

'We have to be proactive in this matter. The state government will do its part to assist the Health Ministry to fill the gap until it can provide adequate medical facilities to the people of Sabah,' he added.

In this regard, Musa called on all the relevant authorities to cooperate in expediting the completion of the hospital for the benefit of all. -- BERNAMA