Rokiah Mahmud
An allocation of BND418,098,270 has been provisioned for the Ministry of Health (MoH) for the financial year 2023-2024. Deliberating on the budget, Minister of Health Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Isham bin Haji Jaafar said there was an increase of 8.3 per cent from the previous year’s approved budget.
Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Isham said it is due to increased medical prices, higher treatment costs, and an increasing number of patients requiring medical treatment.
With the theme, ‘Health is Everyone’s Responsibility’, aligned with the national budget theme ‘Building a Prosperous Future Together’, the ministry emphasises on the importance of preparedness by utilising economical, efficient and effective resources to meet the ministry’s goals.
According to the minister, the COVID-19 pandemic had disrupted the people’s daily lives in the Sultanate.
“The people had shown their responsibility and cooperative attitude towards the government’s advice and guidelines in curbing infectious diseases, in line with the whole-of- nation approach,” he added.
The minister said that for the financial year 2022-2023, the ministry had identified 95 per cent of clinical vacancies as of January 2023.
He said the ministry is committed to filling these vacancies for new recruitment and promotions to ensure the timely delivery of clinical services to the citizens and residents.
Meanwhile, as the 11th National Development Plan (RKN 11) will be accelerated for another year, the ministry has identified two main projects planned for the RKN 12 to be carried out under the RKN 11.
The projects are constructing a new block at the Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha (RIPAS) Hospital and Bru-HIMS 2.0 System project.
The minister shared that constructing a new block at RIPAS Hospital will provide an additional 500 beds to accommodate the increasing number of patients and enhance the preparedness for as pandemics and other major medical emergencies.
The Bru-HIMS 2.0 System Project aims to expand the system’s capabilities introduced in 2012.
Approximately 750,000 active medical records and 6,000 active Bru-HIMS users have been recorded.
“The improvements will include several key features such as the intelligent electronic medical record (EMR), Intelligent Care Plan and Clinical Pathway Recommendation, and structured data system,” the minister said.
“With these key features, the system will be able to assess health risks, predict diagnoses and personal care plans and collect structured data to improve quality,” he added.
