Hospital Pasir Gudang To Start Operating In Phases From Aug 1

JOHOR BAHRU, June 29 (Bernama) -- Hospital Pasir Gudang (HPG), which was officially handed over to the Ministry of Health (MOH) today, will begin operating in phases from Aug 1, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.

He said the initial phase would involve 30 per cent of core services, including Accident and Emergency (A&E), Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and the Paediatric Department.

“So far, 274 positions have been filled, and we expect to be fully operational with 1,845 staff by July 2026,” he told a press conference after attending the HPG project handover ceremony here today.

Also present was Public Works Department director-general Datuk Roslan Ismail.

Dzulkefly said that with a capacity of over 300 beds, HPG would help reduce the workload at Johor Bahru’s two main hospitals – Hospital Sultanah Aminah (HSA) and Hospital Sultan Ismail (HSI) – particularly in handling emergency cases and stable patients.

He said this was in line with Johor’s projected population growth, which was expected to reach 3.90 million by 2025, up from 3.35 million in 2010, with an annual growth rate of two per cent, particularly in Johor Bahru.

Earlier in his speech, Dzulkefly said HPG was the first hospital to offer around 20 on-call suites for specialist doctors as part of efforts to safeguard their welfare and ensure staff comfort.

He said that during its construction, HPG consistently remained ahead of schedule and was never listed among delayed or ‘sick’ projects, despite the challenges posed by the Movement Control Order (MCO).

“HPG has become a benchmark for meticulous planning and integrated implementation that has realised the people’s hopes,” he said.

Dzulkefly said the opening of HPG brought the total number of specialist hospitals in Johor to eight and this was expected to ease congestion at HSA by reducing its bed occupancy rate by five to 10 per cent within two years through the transfer of stable patients.

“With the full operation of HPG, the waiting time for elective surgery services at HSA is expected to be reduced by 30 per cent within the first two years,” he said.

-- BERNAMA