APHM president Dr Kuljit Singh said there were seven private cardiac surgery facilities in the Klang Valley, five centres in Penang, and six private institutions in the southern region.

“These cardiac surgery centres are operated collectively by 10 to 15 senior cardiac surgeons, the majority of whom were trained in the parallel pathway.

“We are eager to provide assistance to patients who are awaiting treatment,” he said in a statement.

Malaysia has been struggling with a shortage of cardiothoracic surgeons at public hospitals, leading to a long waiting list for surgery for heart patients, some of whom do not survive the wait.

This comes against a backdrop of the Malaysian Medical Council’s refusal to recognise cardiothoracic specialists who graduate through the parallel pathway programme.

In May, Kuljit said that private hospitals in the Klang Valley were prepared to assist patients awaiting cardiac surgeries at the Sultan Idris Shah Hospital (HSIS) Heart Centre in Serdang, Selangor.

He said patients in need of urgent cardiac surgery could be referred to private hospitals if public hospitals were unable to accommodate them.

Kuljit said private hospitals were willing to offer their assistance to the government in light of the challenges at HSIS, citing the successful transfer of patients during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Separately, he pleaded with the health ministry to extend the amnesty for recruitment of foreign nurses by an additional year to deal with the shortage at private hospitals.

He said a survey by APHM revealed that some 9,224 nurses would be needed between 2023 and 2025, and that private hospitals were making a concerted effort to recruit nurses from a variety of Asian countries.

“Nevertheless, the amnesty will conclude in October 2024, and we have yet to admit any foreign nurses to our hospitals.”