Johor Health Dept to probe man’s death alleged to be due to delayed ambulance
JOHOR BARU, July 2 — The Johor Health Department assured the public that it would conduct a comprehensive investigation into an incident involving the death of a 38-year-old man at the Paloh health clinic last week.
This follows claims that the man’s death could have been avoided if the ambulance had arrived on time in the incident that happened last Tuesday.
Johor Health Department director Dr Mohtar Pungut @ Ahmad said preliminary investigations revealed that the patient already showed no signs of life when he was brought to the Paloh health clinic on Tuesday morning.
Despite that, he gave assurance that the department and the Kluang district health office are concerned about the incident and have taken proactive steps to conduct a preliminary investigation into the news report.
“The Johor Health Department has identified several aspects that require attention such as the location of Paloh health clinic, which is far from Enche’ Besar Hajjah Khalsom Hospital (HEBHK), and the need for an ambulance.
“The Kluang district health office will carry out further investigation and consultation with all parties involved, including the patient’s family.
“The department takes this incident seriously and will take comprehensive action to ensure the delivery of high-quality health care that puts the patients first by emphasising professionalism and care, in line with the mission and vision of the Health Ministry,” Dr Mohtar said in a statement today.
The statement is in response to a report in a Chinese-language newspaper yesterday that claimed that the patient’s death could have been avoided if the ambulance from HEBHK in Kluang was not late in arriving.
Paloh is considered a semi-rural area under the Kluang district. From Paloh to Kluang town centre takes more than 30km via a trunk road and travel time is estimated to take around 40 minutes.
During the incident, Dr Mohtar said that the deceased’s family had taken the man to the health clinic shortly after he was found unconscious at home.
He explained that upon arrival at the Paloh health clinic at 1.30am, the patient was found to have no signs of life.
“Clinic members on duty immediately provided emergency first aid by performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), oxygen assistance and automated external defibrillator (AED) procedures,” he said, adding that the patient needed to be stabilised first before being referred to the hospital.
Dr Mohtar added that a request for an ambulance was made through the Medical Emergency Call Centre (MECC) network to refer the patient to HEBHK in Kluang.
He said HEBHK’s ambulance arrived at 2.50am.
“However, at 3.15am the patient was pronounced dead.
“The body was taken to HEBHK by the police or further action. The cause of death is still under investigation,” he said.
