As part of his official working visit to Australia, Sarawak Deputy Premier and Minister for Public Health, Housing and Local Government, Dr Sim Kui Hian, visited the Western Australia Country Health Service (WACHS), a major regional health provider under the Department of Health of Western Australia. The visit offered valuable insights into how a vast, sparsely populated region manages healthcare delivery efficiently through innovation and technology.
WACHS, one of the largest health service providers in Australia and globally by landmass, operates across an area equivalent to the size of Western Europe. It serves a rural population of approximately 580,000 with a substantial budget of A$2.8 billion (RM7.76 billion), employing over 12,700 staff across 123 facilities—including six major regional hospitals, 15 mid-sized district hospitals, and 51 smaller hospitals.
A key highlight of the visit was the WACHS Command Centre, which utilises cutting-edge telehealth and emergency coordination technologies to manage clinical, operational, and organisational services. Through partnerships with organisations such as St John Ambulance and the Royal Flying Doctor Service, WACHS delivers services like Emergency Telehealth, Mental Health Support, Acute Patient Transfers, and 24/7 situational monitoring.
Dr Sim praised the effectiveness of WACHS’s digital health framework and noted its relevance to Sarawak’s aspirations for improved rural healthcare delivery. He pointed out that such systems align with Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg’s Post COVID-19 Development Strategy 2030 (PCDS 2030), which prioritises digitalisation as a key driver of growth.
The visit also touched on the significance of Sarawak’s push for greater health autonomy under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63). Dr Sim emphasized that Western Australia’s model could inform Sarawak’s strategy for enhancing rural health services as part of its broader nation-building efforts.
Dr Sim expressed gratitude to WACHS senior management for their hospitality and the opportunity to learn from their operational excellence.
