Maintenance management challenges to the need of facilities for persons with disabilities in public hospital buildings

This study proposes a Building Maintenance House Rules Framework to improve accessibility for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) in Malaysian public hospitals. Although legal provisions such as the Persons with Disabilities Act 2008 and the amended Uniform Building By-Laws (UBBL) exist, maintenance practices remain inconsistent and inadequately enforced. A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted in Hospital Kuala Lumpur, Hospital Shah Alam, and Hospital Putrajaya involving PwDs, elderly users, and pregnant women. Data were analysed using IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) through descriptive statistics and cross-tabulations. The findings reveal recurring maintenance issues, poor integration of universal design, and limited user feedback mechanisms. These results highlight the need for a structured, inclusive, and proactive maintenance framework tailored to accessibility needs.