Selangor health director Dr Sha’ari Ngadiman said the department and Serdang Hospital were in the midst of a “detailed investigation” into the case which involved a 64-year-old patient.

However, in the same statement, Sha’ari defended hospital staff.

He said the patient arrived at the hospital’s emergency department on Jan 26 due to heart complications and was given the necessary treatment. He was then referred to the cardiology department for further treatment.

“The patient remained at the emergency department but was under the cardiology department’s surveillance until he could be moved to the cardiology ward as soon as a bed became available.

“While at the cardiology ward, the department continued to conduct checks, surveillance and treatment on the patient. The patient and his family were kept informed by the specialists treating him.”

He said the patient was then scheduled for a heart procedure but the hospital did not proceed due to his condition at the time.

“On that same day, his condition suddenly deteriorated while he was being treated at the ward.”

Sha’ari said the cardiology team then tried to resuscitate the patient but failed.

He maintained that Serdang Hospital’s emergency and cardiology departments did their best to care for the patient in view of the “very high” number of patients in the hospital at the time.

“Serdang Hospital remains committed to providing the best healthcare service it can offer,” he said.

He added that the hospital would hold a meeting with the patient’s loved ones over the matter.

On Jan 26, Twitter user @SamuelManokaran said his father had suffered a heart attack and was being treated at Serdang Hospital. The netizen claimed that his father was brought to the hospital at 4.30am but had yet to be admitted after 17 hours due to a lack of beds.

On Jan 31, he posted another tweet, saying his father had passed away the night before. He claimed this was caused by the hospital staff’s negligence.