Garbage piled up and the toilets went uncleaned for a week at several hospitals in Selangor. This was due to long-time government contractor Radicare switching workers.
After receiving complaints from the public, Malaysiakiniconducted a check at the Selayang Hospital and found rubbish bins overflowing with garbage while toilets were littered with wet tissues.
Hospital staff, speaking on condition of anonymity, apologised for the situation, saying that they have tried to keep their respective areas clean.
"That's all we can do since the cleaning staff have not come around," said a nurse.
The issue was also raised last Friday by Dr Xavier Jayakumar, the state assemblyperson for Seri Andalas.
"It has been brought to my notice that in 2014, Radicare which has been contracted to clean all hospitals, has cut manpower. From the usual 120 workers, it is now 20," he said in a press statement.
Jayakumar said that apart from Selayang, hospitals in Sungai Buloh, Kajang and Rawang were similarly affected.
According to him, Radicare has contracts for eight major hospitals in Selangor and held the contract to provide integrated non-clinical hospital management care to the Health Ministry since 1997. In total, these contracts are worth close to RM200 million a year.
Staff at Selayang Hospital said that less than a dozen cleaners had showed up for the first seven days of the year, compared to hundreds that regularly maintain the 960-bed hospital.
Staff were told to be patient as it was a temporary hiccup as Radicare was switching contractors from Harta Maintenance Sdn Bhd to Alam Bersih Sdn Bhd.
However, a Selayang Hospital public relations officer said that hospital operations are not affected and insisted that normal service standards have been kept.
A check by Malaysiakini confirmed that Radicare workers handling biological waste and laundry were working as usual.
The public relations officer pointed out that building maintenance was a Health Ministry issue.
Contacted later, Health Minister Dr S Subramaniam said he had promptly intervened to get things back on track.
"I am told that it was consequent to Radicare's appointment of a new contractor. I have directed them to rectify it. They have promised to rectify it by today," he said.
Meanwhile, Jayakumar pointed out that a week is “a big time in hospital care.”
"If hospitals are not kept clean because companies are cutting down on manpower, it's high time to review the contract given to these companies.
"What is the person in charge in the Health Ministry doing? Don't they monitor these things or wait to do something only when complaints come about?" he asked.
"Radicare should be at least given some kind of warning letter and notice, so that next time this happens again, they can be immediately terminated," he added.
Radicare's corporate communications manager was not immediately available for comment.
After receiving complaints from the public, Malaysiakiniconducted a check at the Selayang Hospital and found rubbish bins overflowing with garbage while toilets were littered with wet tissues.Hospital staff, speaking on condition of anonymity, apologised for the situation, saying that they have tried to keep their respective areas clean.
"That's all we can do since the cleaning staff have not come around," said a nurse.
The issue was also raised last Friday by Dr Xavier Jayakumar, the state assemblyperson for Seri Andalas.
"It has been brought to my notice that in 2014, Radicare which has been contracted to clean all hospitals, has cut manpower. From the usual 120 workers, it is now 20," he said in a press statement.
Jayakumar said that apart from Selayang, hospitals in Sungai Buloh, Kajang and Rawang were similarly affected.According to him, Radicare has contracts for eight major hospitals in Selangor and held the contract to provide integrated non-clinical hospital management care to the Health Ministry since 1997. In total, these contracts are worth close to RM200 million a year.
Staff at Selayang Hospital said that less than a dozen cleaners had showed up for the first seven days of the year, compared to hundreds that regularly maintain the 960-bed hospital.
Staff were told to be patient as it was a temporary hiccup as Radicare was switching contractors from Harta Maintenance Sdn Bhd to Alam Bersih Sdn Bhd.However, a Selayang Hospital public relations officer said that hospital operations are not affected and insisted that normal service standards have been kept.
A check by Malaysiakini confirmed that Radicare workers handling biological waste and laundry were working as usual.
The public relations officer pointed out that building maintenance was a Health Ministry issue.Contacted later, Health Minister Dr S Subramaniam said he had promptly intervened to get things back on track.
"I am told that it was consequent to Radicare's appointment of a new contractor. I have directed them to rectify it. They have promised to rectify it by today," he said.
Meanwhile, Jayakumar pointed out that a week is “a big time in hospital care.”
"If hospitals are not kept clean because companies are cutting down on manpower, it's high time to review the contract given to these companies."What is the person in charge in the Health Ministry doing? Don't they monitor these things or wait to do something only when complaints come about?" he asked.
"Radicare should be at least given some kind of warning letter and notice, so that next time this happens again, they can be immediately terminated," he added.
Radicare's corporate communications manager was not immediately available for comment.
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