“An overflow of follow-up patients occurred because they were unable to attend their appointments on the previous Tuesday, which was a public holiday for Thaipusam,” said the department in a statement.

The department said the congestion was also due to walk-in patients and patients arriving too early without following their scheduled appointments.

The department was responding to a Kosmo report on Feb 18 that quoted the clinic as saying it dealt with almost 400 patients that day.

It also dismissed claims of a shortage of medical officers at the clinic, saying the facility had 26 cardiologists, including 15 consultants and three trainees, and 50 medical officers operating across 20 consultation rooms.

“The cardiothoracic and cardiology centre’s medical staff also manage warded patients, perform an average of 50 to 70 coronary angiograms and treat heart-related patients daily at the centre’s emergency and trauma department,” said the department.

The department said Serdang Hospital had identified immediate steps to prevent a recurrence of the clinic’s extraordinary congestion, including strengthening its appointment system to prevent overcrowding and expanding teleconsultation services for stable patients.

It said the hospital would also implement a “step-down care” approach that would shift eligible patients to health clinics for follow-ups and blood tests, and also decentralise treatment to six other heart treatment centres nationwide.

“We also request that patients and their next of kin cooperate by following their appointment times,” said the department.