NURSING a throbbing headache and burning fever, 18-year-old Muhammad Firdaus Azman got a rude shock when he recently sought treatment at Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL), only to be told that the outpatient clinic had shifted to the newly-opened Klinik Kesihatan Kuala Lumpur (HCK).

Firdaus, who walked to HKL, had to walk another two kilometres to the new clinic in Jalan Fletcher, Titiwangsa, in the blazing sun.

“It usually takes me six minutes to walk from my house in Kampung Baru to HKL.

“But, now I have to walk nearly 30 minutes to get to the new clinic as there is no public transportation,” he said.

The RM50 million HCK, built in response to patient congestion at HKL, can treat 2,000 to 3,000 patients a day.

Administration and operations at the clinic run entirely on the Teleprimary Care (TPC) computer system, which covers patients’ registration right up to the collection of medication at the pharmacy.

But while the HCK has been hailed as the largest government clinic in the country, its inaccessibility via public transportation has been criticised by many of the residents from surrounding areas such as Kampung Baru, Datuk Keramat, Setapak, Sentul and the city centre.

There are no bus stops or taxi stands at the clinic, which means patients have to endure the heat or rain if they need to hail a taxi, or they will have to walk a long distance to catch a bus.

Samirah Zakaria, 21, said she was unaware that the outpatient clinic had moved to the new place on April 3.

“When I arrived at HKL from Setapak, I was given a brochure by the health officer with a map to the new clinic.

“I had already paid for a taxi from my home and had to spend an additional RM6 to get to the new clinic,” she said, adding that there should have been better communication to inform the public of the move.

However, for those with their own vehicles, the ample parking space at the new double-storey HCK is greatly welcomed.

Syed Muhamad Shari, 40, said he needn’t worry about being late for appointments as there were enough parking bays, as opposed to HKL’s parking lot which was always full.

A Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya Federal Territories Health Department spokesperson said they were aware of public transportation problems at HCK and had forwarded the matter to the relevant authorities.

The department had contacted the Land Public Transport Commission, Prasarana Malaysia Berhad and Kuala Lumpur City Hall for further action and was awaiting their response, the official said.

The official expected the issue of congestion at HKL to be greatly eased with the latest move. The hospital will still handle emergency and admission for patients with critical ailments. – April 9, 2017.