PUBLIC hospitals across Malaysia continue to experience significant delays in emergency departments, despite the introduction of formal performance indicators by the Ministry of Health (MOH).
Frontline medical staff say chronic overcrowding, shortages of doctors and nurses, and insufficient physical infrastructure remain the key drivers of prolonged waiting times, underscoring a widening gap between official targets and day-to-day realities in hospitals.
In a written parliamentary reply to the Dewan Negara dated March 4, the ministry said the median waiting time for a bed in emergency departments was 144.4 minutes.
“For the period from July to December 2025, national performance reached 83.80% with 119 out of 142 hospitals with Emergency Departments successfully meeting the fixed target,” MOH said.
However, The Star, on Monday, reported that conditions in several facilities suggest continued pressure on the system.
In one hospital in Sabah, patients were recently observed lying on stretchers and seated in wheelchairs while waiting for beds, as wards operated beyond capacity with beds placed tightly in available spaces.
A doctor based in Kota Kinabalu said emergency departments follow strict triage timelines depending on severity.
Patients in the Green Zone, with minor or uncomplicated conditions, should be seen within 45 minutes to an hour, while Yellow Zone cases require attention within 30 minutes. Red Zone patients, who are critically ill, must be treated immediately.
“Admission to the primary team ward should be within four hours.
“If the patients have been stable for more than four hours, they can be sent to the transit ward.
“But if they are unstable and waiting for over four hours, then we will discuss with the emergency physician and primary team,” he said.
However, a senior hospital administrator in Kedah said actual waiting times in tertiary hospitals can extend between four and nine hours, suggesting a disconnect between performance indicators and operational realities.
“The KPI works for the state Health Department and ministry officials (but not on the ground),” he said.
Another physician in Sabah described how makeshift wards are sometimes created to accommodate patient overflow.
“This is regardless of the condition and whether the case is infectious or not.
“This is how the wait time at the Emergency Department can be shortened,” he said.
While some hospitals have introduced observation bays to ease congestion, doctors warn that these measures can place added pressure on staff to discharge or transfer patients more quickly in order to meet targets.
“When there is already a shortage of doctors and staff, this potentially affects patient care,” he added.
The ministry acknowledged that prolonged waiting times stem from structural challenges, including an increasing disease burden, heavy reliance on public healthcare services, and shortages of specialists and frontline medical staff.
In response, MOH said it is implementing measures to expand capacity and reduce congestion without increasing costs to patients. These include upgrading facilities, adding hospital beds, strengthening the healthcare workforce and improving primary care services.
The ministry is also rolling out phased digitalisation efforts to streamline patient registration, reduce duplicate testing, and improve the sharing of medical records between facilities, with the aim of improving patient flow and monitoring bed availability more effectively.
In addition, selected specialist services are being extended to health clinics under a cluster hospital model, while domiciliary care programmes are being expanded to reduce unnecessary hospital admissions.
Several health clinics located near major hospitals have also extended operating hours into the evening on weekdays and opened on Saturdays, in an effort to ease pressure on overcrowded emergency departments. - April 20, 2026
