'Minister must quit if Serdang Hospital ceiling caves in again'

Health Minister Dr S Subramaniam should tender his resignation if the Serdang Hospital ceiling caves in for the fourth time, Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching said. 

Teo, who was Serdang MP in the last term, said that this follows the third collapse on Sept 30, 2013, despite her urgings for the government to give a guarantee that it will not happen again. 

“Dr Subramaniam should show that he is more determined than former mealth minister Liow Tiong Lai to avoid such incidents from recurring...

“As such, I am issuing him a challenge; will he dare to sign a pledge stating that he will resign as health minister if the ceiling caves in for the fourth time?” she asked in a statement.

According to Teo (right), after the first incident on Jan 30, 2011, Liow had responded to her by saying that the ministry has allocated RM800,000 to replace a 250 square feet-wide area of the ceiling. 

The ministry then explained that the ceiling was “loose and dangerous” with parts caved in, she said, and that the Works Ministry would take the ceiling down and investigate the cause.

And yet, she said, a second collapse occurred on Aug 13, 2012, injuring three nurses and a medical officer.

Last month, the ceiling outside the maternity ward caved in, she said, and Subramaniam as the newly-appointed health minister had made the same assurances as his predecessor.

“Three collapses in three years at the Serdang Hospital and the ministry appears not to take heed,” she said.