Saturday, December 03, 2005
Emergency treatment and services
38. Emergency treatment and services.
(1) Every licensed and registered private healthcare facility or service shall at all times be capable of instituting, and making available, essential life saving measures and implementing emergency procedures on any person requiring such treatment or services.
(2) The nature and scope of such emergency measures, procedures and services shall be as prescribed.
117. General offence and penalty.
(2) Where no penalty is expressly provided for an offence under this Act, a person who commits such offence shall be liable on conviction—
(a) in the case of a natural person—
(i) to a fine not exceeding ten thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to both; and
(ii) for a continuing offence to a fine not exceeding five hundred ringgit for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction;
(b) in the case of a body corporate, partnership or society—
(i) to a fine not exceeding thirty thousand ringgit; and
(ii) in the case of a continuing offence, to a fine not exceeding two thousand ringgit for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction.
(3) Where an offence under subsection (1) is committed by a body corporate, a partnership or a society—
(a) in the case of a body corporate, the person responsible for the body corporate;
(b) in the case of a partnership, every partner in the partnership;
(c) in the case of a society its office bearers,
GREEDY HOSPITALS - Ministry has no power to act
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 3: The Malay Mail
The Health Ministry is powerless to act against private hospitals and clinics that deny emergency treatment to patients in need.
The Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998 does not provide the Ministry with enforcement power to bring errant hospitals and clinics to book.
This is because regulations proposed under the Act have yet to be approved, despite the Government talking about it since 1998.
This makes a mockery of last Wednesday’s Cabinet directive that the licences of private hospitals be suspended or revoked, if they fail to give emergency treatment to needy patients.
Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek admitted as much that the Ministry’s hands are tied at the moment.
“We are powerless to act as the existing Act does not give us the enforcement bite,” he told The Malay Mail yesterday, following criticisms by the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (Fomca) that the Ministry stop issuing warnings to private hospitals and act on its word instead.
The Malay Mail yesterday reported that Fomca secretary-general Muhd Shaani Abdullah had criticised the Ministry for “continuing to issue warnings” to private hospitals, despite ample proof that some of them had ignored the warnings.
Dr Chua stressed that there is very little the Ministry could do at the moment, until proposed regulations made under the new Act are approved.
“The regulations are not ready. The Attorney-General’s Chambers is still going through the final draft.
“That is why we requested special consideration from the Cabinet to endorse these regulations, in the light of recent cases that have been highlighted,” he said.
He was, however, unable to say when the draft would be finalised and the regulations approved.
“You would have to check with the Attorney-General’s Chambers but we are pushing for it to be completed as soon as possible,” he said.
Despite this, Dr Chua has instructed the Ministry’s deputy director-general Datuk Dr Abdul Gani Mohammed Din to investigate the allegation made by the family of Khairul Anuar Salim, that the Pantai Indah Medical Centre in Pandan Indah had denied the boy emergency treatment until his situation took a turn for the worse — all because they had not paid the RM5,000 deposit.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the medical centre said they had submitted a report on the incident to the Ministry on Thursday.
Friday, December 02, 2005
FOMCA BLASTS HEALTH MINISTRY
FOMCA BLASTS HEALTH MINISTRY
Step down, Chua told
P. SELVARANI
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 2: The Malay Mail
The Health Ministry has come under fire from the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) for allowing private hospitals to give more importance to monetary gains than a person’s life.
Fomca accused the Ministry of neglecting its responsibility by not taking firm action against errant private hospitals, although it was empowered to do so under the Private Hospitals Act 1971.
Its secretary-general, Muhd Shaani Abdullah, criticised the Ministry for “continuing to issue warnings” to private hospitals, despite ample proof that some of them had neglected their responsibility.
“The case of Khairul Anuar Salim is a classic example. Why has the Ministry not revoked or suspended the licence of the private hospital concerned?
“The Health Minister should resign if those under his charge do not know what their priorities are,” he said.
Muhd Shaani’s criticism comes in the wake of the statement by Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek that the Ministry would suspend or revoke the licences of private hospitals which did not give emergency treatment to patients in need.
Khairul Anuar, 17, was allegedly denied emergency treatment by a hospital because the family could not immediately pay the RM5,000 deposit.
His uncle, Sallehuddean Latiff, claimed that the hospital only treated his nephew an hour after he was sent to the hospital on Saturday.
“They did not want to treat him until I paid a deposit.
“They only took him into the operation theatre when his situation turned critical, by which time it was too late,” he said.
Muhd Shaani said doctors and those who managed hospitals should remember that their primary duty was to save lives.
He said the Ministry should be held responsible for allowing this degradation in values as it had the power to act against those who neglected their primary duty as healthcare providers.
“Has the licence of any private hospital been suspended or revoked in all these years that cases of negligence have been reported? Khairul Anwar’s case was not the first and I believe it will not be the last for as long as action is not taken against those who fail in their duty.”
