page_title: Sarawak General Hospital
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Sarawak General Hospital / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Sarawak General Hospital as seen from main entrance between 1900 to 1930
context_page_description: Sarawak General Hospital is the largest hospital in the state of Sarawak, Malaysia. It is the main tertiary and referral hospital in East Malaysia. In its earlier years it was known as Kuching General Hospital.
context_section_description: Sarawak General Hospital has been in existence since 1870. However, no proper historical records have been preserved of its existence.
  The earliest record about the hospital is from 1910. Based from this documentation, the hospital was initially located at the current site of the Kuching Central Prison and a total of 920 patients were admitted to the hospital during that year.
  In 1925, construction of a new hospital started at the hospital's current location at Jalan Tun Abang Haji Openg. The new hospital was operational from 1931. From its foundation up until at least the outbreak of World War II, the hospital was known as Kuching General Hospital.
  After World War II, the hospital was unable to meet the growing needs of the population. In 1957, a proposal to build a new and modern hospital was put forward. A total of RM13.5 million was spent for the 1964 - 1968 Development Plan and the consultation and management fees amounting to RM8.2 million was paid for by the Australian Government under the Colombo Plan.
  The construction of the hospital was planned in 2 phases. Phase I involved the building of an 8-story Main Block, including the Emergency Unit. Phase I construction began in 1965 and was completed in May 1970. By then, the cost of construction grew to RM17.8 million. The lion's share of the cost amounting RM17.3 million was borne by the federal government while the rest was paid by the state government.
  Phase II involved the completion of an extra floor in the east wing and an additional five stories in the western part of the Main Block. Phase II construction began in September 1970 and was completed in 1972.
  The new hospital then was able to accommodate 582 patients and had many modern facilities.
  The subsequent years, many additions were made to the hospital, including:
  1977 - Houseman quarters A
  1978 - New mortuary
  1980 - Laboratory block
  1988 - Renovation of the Pharmacy Department
  1993 - Construction of the Specialist Clinic block
  1994 - Houseman Quarters B
  2000 - Clinical Block and Inpatient Block completed
  2009 - Main tower block refurbishment completed
  2009 - Houseman quarters A conversion to Isolation Ward for infectious disease completed
  The main block of the hospital underwent renovation and refurbishment, which was completed in September 2009. SGH currently has 1005 beds and is on par with other hospitals in Malaysia and Asia.
caption: Kuching General Hospital between 1900 and 1930
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