Feeling unsafe at hospitals

SAFETY has become a major concern at hospitals, with both patients and employees feeling unsafe as they have been victims of snatch thieves and other crimes at one time or another.

A staff nurse at a government hospital in Serdang toldStarMetro that she was abducted and then robbed by a group of men recently.

The nurse, who has been working here for two years, said she was walking back to the staff quarters when she was pounced upon and driven from the compound in a car.

She said the armed men forced her to hand over all her belongings and only then let her go at the park in Titiwangsa Lake, Kuala Lumpur.

“I got help from a passer-by,” said the nurse, adding that the robbers had also called her husband to tell him she was at the park.

She said despite the occurrence of such incidents, security measures were still lax at the hospital, especially for employees working late shifts.

Another source from the hospital said a number of cars had also been stolen from the hospital carpark last year.

Recently, it was reported that a group of armed men had stormed a hospital in Sibu, Sarawak.

More than 20 of them came in six cars, stormed the hospital to assault a patient who was being treated for injuries and under police escort.

Armed with wooden and iron rods, the group had attacked the man at the Accident and Emergency Unit (A&E) as medical personnel treating the victim looked on helplessly.

The police managed to arrest nine of the gang members the same day.

Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) president Datuk Dr N.K.S. Tharmaseelan said the association members had discussed the matter with the relevant authorities.

He said they hoped the Health Ministry would work with the police to ensure safety at all hospitals.

“We are concerned about the hospital staff, especially those working on night shifts and leaving the premises at late hours of the night.

“We have received reports of doctors being assaulted and robbed. The safety of female doctors concerns us the most and we want the problem resolved as soon as possible,” said Dr Tharmaseelan.

“Not all doctors are provided with parking bays near the hospital entrance. These are only given to senior doctors and heads of departments.

“If possible, parking bays near the A&E or place-of-duty should be given to those on call at night or wee hours of the morning.”

An experiment

Following up on the complaints, StarMetro reporter Nevash Nair checked out several hospitals last week and found that security at hospitals were indeed lax.

Armed with an iron rod, the reporter lurked around the Hospital Kuala Lumpur carpark for about 20 minutes, trying to break into a parked vehicle.

While there were police presence and security guards at the hospital building, his “criminal” activity went unnoticed.

More alarming was that a number of nurses and female doctors were seen walking to their vehicles parked here alone and could have been harmed.

He found that the guards were focused on monitoring the people entering the hospital.

He noted that motorcyclists were also seen entering the hospital grounds via one entrance and leaving via another freely.

The reporter was able to walk around the hospital grounds with the iron rod tucked into his pants pocket without raising suspicions or stopped for questioning.

Theft cases at hospitals 

June 22, 2013: A foreigner in her 60s, lost RM25,000 to snatch thieves at a private hospital. The money was to pay for her daughter’s medical expenses.

June 1, 2013: A 28-year-old man was assaulted by armed men in six cars at the Accident and Emergency Unit of a hospital in Sibu about 2am.

Sept 5, 2012: A patient who was seeking treatment was attacked by a group of men armed with parang at Hospital Jempol, Negri Sembilan.

June 20, 2012: Thieves carted away an endoscopy machine worth RM4mil from Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC).

June 18, 2012: Parts of eight endoscopy machines worth RM1mil were stolen from Tung Shin Hospital in Kuala Lumpur.

June 11, 2012: An endoscopy machine worth RM120,000 was stolen from a private hospital in Kajang.

Jan 3, 2012: Police arrested two after RM1.07mil worth of prescription drugs went missing at Hospital Kuala Lumpur.

May 15, 2007: An undergraduate student became a victim of snatch theft at the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang.