KUALA LUMPUR - A psychiatric patient who stabbed and seriously injured a fellow patient at a Malaysian hospital on Tuesday had been brought to the hospital by the police, the authorities revealed on Wednesday.
Health director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah said on Wednesday that agitated psychiatry patients could act erratically “anywhere”, and that the man’s actions were not directly caused by overcrowding at the hospital.
The Straits Times reported on Tuesday that the perpetrator was upset over the long wait for a bed at Selayang Hospital in Selangor, where the wards were full. Both the perpetrator and victim – a dengue patient – were waiting at the hospital’s emergency department when the stabbing took place at 3.45pm on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the police and Selangor Health Department confirmed the incident, without attributing its cause.
Selangor police chief S. Sasikala Devi said the perpetrator is currently warded in the psychiatry department at the same hospital and an investigation has been opened. “The reason behind the suspect attacking the victim is unknown,” she said.
Selangor health director Sha’ari Ngadiman said the victim, a 29-year-old man, is in stable condition in the intensive care unit at the hospital after undergoing surgery. He said a police report has been lodged by the medical officer who witnessed the incident.
Health Minister Zaliha Mustafa, who rushed to the hospital on Tuesday after hearing about the incident, gave her assurance that the best care will be offered to the victim.
Tan Sri Noor Hisham said that following the incident, the Health Ministry will be reviewing its procedures in handling psychiatric patients in the future.
Selayang is one of several public hospitals in Malaysia that have made the news in recent weeks for reports of overcrowding and long waiting times, amid a double whammy of high patient loads and a staff shortage as disgruntled doctors continue to quit the public healthcare system.
In January, a man died at Serdang Hospital after waiting for over 30 hours to be admitted. On Feb 3, Tuanku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang had to close its emergency department to non-critical patients due to a high patient load. Similar problems were also reported at Selayang Hospital and Putrajaya Hospital, located in the heart of the country’s administrative capital.
Health news outlet Code Blue previously reported that patients stranded at Selayang Hospital’s emergency department face a 24- to 72-hour wait. Code Blue also reported that its own survey showed that 95 per cent of healthcare workers interviewed by them believe that Malaysia’s public health system is in “crisis”.
Rumours surfaced in January of a strike by doctors after the Hartal Doktor Kontrak (HDK) collective urged doctors who are “willing to sacrifice whatever it takes” to join the movement. HDK organised a one-day strike in 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic, by junior doctors objecting to contract terms with limited benefits and pathways for growth, and long working hours.
Experts have called for a review of the public healthcare system, and Dr Zaliha – the country’s fourth health minister in as many years – previously said she would table a White Paper on this.
