Stop Private Practice In Government Hospitals

Dr Lee Boon Chye, member of parliament and Parti Keadilan Rakyat Health Bureau Head appeals to Minister of Health to review the policy of private wing for specialist. This follows the decision to expand such practice from Selayang Hospital to four other general hospitals at Alor Setar, Johor Bahru, Serdang and Sungai Buluh.

As it is now, Ministry of Health (MOH) is facing acute shortage of specialists of up to 50%. Allowing government specialists to do private practice to serve the rich is going to deprive the poor of much needed specialist care. This will undoubtedly lead to dichotomy of standard of care, one for the rich and one for the poor. We have 1-Malaysia but 2 standards of healthcare.

The implementation of the Private Wing in government hospitals may be prelude to further privatisation of health service.

We have seen privatization of support services, medical examination for foreign workers and also supply of drugs. The experience with drug supply has shown escalation cost when the 15-year drug supply concession was given to Renong then and now Pharmaniaga. During the concession period, MOH spending on drugs has increased from RM 149 million in 1995 to RM 1.543 billion in 2008, an increase of more than ten-folds or an annual increment of 20%.

We recognize the need to retain specialists in MOH. In this aspect MOH should implement immediately what Dr Lee Boon Chye suggested during the 2009 parliamentary debate on 2010 budget, ie, setting up a ‘Special Service Commission for Doctors’ to cater to the needs of government doctors. This will help to arrest the brain drain to private sector.

To solve the immediate shortage, MOH should also work hand-in-hand with private specialists to allow them to perform 'national service' via practice one session per week in government hospitals. This will go a long way in alleviating the shortage of specialist care in government hospitals.

DR LEE BOON CHYE

Vice President and Chairman of Health & Science Bureau,

Parti Keadilan Rakyat

Member of Parliament, Gopeng