Health minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa said their support and cooperation would help the ministry reduce the workload among health workers and provide the best service to patients.

“We have identified 52 health clinics nationwide that require extended hours.

“This move can help reduce congestion at the emergency departments of hospitals,” she said at a press conference after officiating the state-level World Kidney Day 2023 here.

When asked about the possibility of adding health workers to make the initiative a success, Zaliha said for now the ministry was encouraging the participation of GPs and contract doctors.

Yesterday, the ministry announced the extended hours at 52 health clinics nationwide to reduce overcrowding at hospital emergency departments.

The operating hours for health clinics in the Klang Valley have been extended from 5pm to 9.30pm, from Mondays to Fridays. They will be open from 8am till noon on Saturdays.

In Kedah, Kelantan and Johor, the operating hours have been extended from 5pm to 9.30pm from Sundays to Thursdays. They will be open from 8am till noon on Saturdays.

Regarding efforts to increase the number of kidney transplants, she said the ministry would implement the “Paired Kidney Exchange” programme at Hospital Kuala Lumpur and Hospital Selayang.

“We will also implement various other programmes in order to help more patients,” she said.

Zaliha added that the number of chronic kidney patients in Malaysia had increased from 9.7% in 2011 to 15.5% in 2018.