THE Health Ministry (MOH) said it would investigate allegations over the death of a male patient who purportedly did not receive appropriate treatment at Sultan Abdul Halim Hospital (HSAH) in Sungai Petani – an issue that went viral on social media.

In a statement today, HSAH said its management has initiated a probe into the incident and assured every complaint would be investigated transparently.

“MOH has taken note of the viral post on social media last Thursday concerning a patient allegedly not receiving appropriate treatment at the Emergency and Trauma Department of HSAH, resulting in the patient’s death.

“We take this matter seriously and will investigate the claims. Findings will only be disclosed to the patient’s next-of-kin to maintain confidentiality,” it said.

HSAH said the MOH would not compromise on the issue if there was negligence during the patient’s treatment at the facility.

“The MOH would like to extend condolences to the deceased’s family, and we deeply regret the incident. Ensuring patient safety and delivering services according to standards without neglecting customer rights are always a priority for the MOH,” it said.

Earlier, a post titled “sakit jantung tapi bagi ubat gastrik, 5 jam kemudian beliau meninggal dunia!! (heart disease but given gastric medicine, 5 hours later he died!!)” went viral on social media.

The post said a 51-year-old patient was taken to hospital at 12.45am on December 3 due to breathing difficulties and chest pain.

It said an assistant medical officer in the emergency ward allegedly diagnosed the patient with gastric issues and asked him to wait for further examination, but the patient remained untreated until 4.30am.

At 6am, the patient’s health deteriorated, and he was transferred to the red zone. He died about half an hour later. – Bernama, December 9, 2023.