COMMENT | Long before Covid-19 came along, we worked long hours, understaffed and under-equipped.

Not only in Sabah, but everywhere, including resource-rich Selangor.

Hospitals were overcrowded everywhere. Patients waited days for the ward beds in the Emergency Department corridors. Ventilated patients could not go to the ICU.

Reports were written. Audits were presented. Appeals were made. Nothing much changed.

Every year requests were made for more allocations. Justification was given. Implication spelted out clearly. Meetings were held. Nothing much moved.

Ironically, the Covid-19 pandemic has become an opportunity to deliver. To answer years of prayers. To upgrade, buy much-needed equipment, strengthen the system, re-organise the way we work, redistribute personnel, and prioritise.

Every tragedy is an opportunity to improve. Of course, much more is needed. It is with much hope that we wait for a better allocation for the improvement of healthcare in our coming budget.

For better infrastructure, we have to ensure 2.5 beds per every 1,000 population in our public hospitals. For more equitable access to medications and vaccines. For more grade A ambulances, for more allocation for health care needs, especially for the Orang Asli and rural areas in Sabah and Sarawak.

For enough allocation to create many more permanent posts for doctors, nurses, and support staff to run every rural clinic so that people would not have to travel more than 2.5km to be seen by a doctor. To not have to track along logging roads and travel by sampan to reach a hospital with specialist service.

May we have a silver lining in these cloudy times. Goodness to flow from so much suffering.

Health for all is achievable if we reach out to each and every MP we voted for in 2018. Urge them to debate, scrutinise, and amend the budget in the spirit of unity and goodwill.

We implore our elected representatives to make the right decisions. We must vote with a conscience for the sake of moving forward for the good of this nation.

On this Holy Day of Maulidur Rasul, may the spirit of love, kindness, and justice prevail, and engulf our hearts and souls so that in the coming Parliament sitting, our MPs would vote for a more equitable distribution of wealth.

DR CECILIA ANTHONYSAMY is an Emergency Physician with Hospital Serdang, Selangor.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.