Deputy health minister Lukanisman Awang Sauni said the ministry will ensure that its facilities will not prioritise private patient care at the expense of its specialists and other healthcare workers.
“There will be procedures, requirements and guidelines set, including limits on the time doctors and specialists can allocate to these private wing patients.
“We will refine the methods and processes for managing the Rakan MOH programme, as it is an initiative meant to benefit both the government and the community,” he told the Dewan Rakyat today.
Lukanisman was responding to Alias Razak (PN-Kuala Nerus) who asked if the programme affects the doctor-to-patient and bed-to-patient ratios for the general population.
Alias asked about improvements being made to address the shortage of medical staff. “When the facilities are used for these first-class patients, it can lead to a shortage (of medical personnel) for others,” he said.
He also asked if the delay in medical doctors being absorbed into permanent positions within the ministry, resulting in many joining the private sector or seeking opportunities abroad, had also compounded the shortage of manpower locally.
Lukanisman agreed that these two factors affect local resources, but said filling these positions cannot be done all at once.
He cited Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s commitment in April last year for the government to secure permanent positions for over 12,000 contract doctors within three years.
“We started last year with over 3,000, added more than 4,000 this year, and aim to complete the placements in 2025.
“There are stages to this process. For instance, we’re waiting for new facilities like the Dungun Hospital to be ready and for the necessary resources to be provided by the government.
“These positions can’t be filled all at once because they require approval from the public service department,” he said.
He also said the government is conducting a comprehensive study on maldistribution of healthcare workers, as some facilities are overstaffed while smaller towns in the peninsula face a shortage.
In September, health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said the ministry was hoping to expand private wings at government-run hospitals, targeting patients from the M40 income group.
However, critics have warned that the proposal could take away much-needed resources from the main patient load and create a serious conflict of interest for the specialists involved.