THE Penang government has been urged to work closely with the Federal Government to expedite the proposed expansion of Hospital Kepala Batas (HKB), as the hospital continues to face mounting pressure from growing healthcare demands in North Seberang Perai.
Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican (BN–Bertam), who raised the issue during the debate on the Penang Budget 2027 at the State Legislative Assembly sitting in Dewan Sri Pinang today, said the hospital’s existing capacity of 134 beds was insufficient to cope with the increasing number of patients.
He said he had previously highlighted the issue during the 2024 State Legislative Assembly sitting, pointing out that HKB was already operating under considerable strain, with its bed occupancy rate hovering at approximately 90%.
“Patients have reportedly had to wait between nine hours and two days to receive treatment.
“Meanwhile, the bed-to-population ratio in North Seberang Perai stands at approximately 0.39 beds per 1,000 people, significantly below the general reference benchmark of one bed per 1,000 people,” he said.
Reezal Merican said he understood that the proposed hospital expansion, which was previously listed under the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP), had since been moved to Rolling Plan 5 of the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP).
He urged the state government to engage with the Health Ministry to accelerate the project’s implementation, clarify its timeline and ensure that the expanded hospital would have sufficient bed capacity, specialist services, emergency facilities and supporting infrastructure.
However, he stressed that the expansion of HKB should be viewed from a broader perspective, particularly given the growing healthcare needs of the surrounding communities.
He noted that the Health Minister had previously acknowledged the urgent need to increase the hospital’s existing capacity, including through a proposal to construct a multi-storey hospital block with an additional 300 beds.
According to him, the project had been planned for consideration and further refinement under the priority list of Rolling Plan 1 (RP1) of the 13MP.
However, he expressed concern that there had been no clear updates on the project’s status to date.
“I would therefore like to seek clarification from the state government on the latest status of this 300-bed project, the follow-up actions taken with the Federal Government, and the projected timeline for its implementation,” he said.
Reezal Merican emphasised that expanding HKB was crucial as the hospital served not only residents of Kepala Batas and Bertam but also the wider North Seberang Perai community, which was experiencing continued population and development growth.
He said timely action was necessary to ensure that healthcare facilities could keep pace with the area’s expansion and provide residents with better access to quality medical services.
Story by Riadz Akmal