The Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) acknowledged that the priority of private hospitals was on profits, but said this meant that they were too pricey for regular Malaysians.
With the intake of medical insurance in Malaysia relatively low and patients having to face long waits at government hospitals, Fomca deputy president Paul Selva Raj said that private healthcare needed to be “humanised”.
“Several major hospital corporations are GLCs. We should begin with those. Instead of just focussing on profits and share value, GLC-owned private hospitals should find a balance between profits and value for patient welfare.
“Their key performance indicators should not just be profits but patients’ needs and welfare. They should contribute to the national interest of reducing the burden on public hospitals,” he said in a statement.
State GLC Johor Corporation has a 32.24% stake in KPJ Healthcare Berhad, which boasts multiple private hospitals across the country. On the other hand, sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd held a 25.94% stake in IHH Healthcare Bhd as of September this year.
Among private hospitals under IHH Healthcare are Gleneagles, Prince Court and Pantai.
Paul said the unity government should direct these private hospitals run by GLCs to change their priorities, emphasising more on patient care while making reasonable profits.
He acknowledged that this was contrary to market-driven practices but said it would reflect Putrajaya’s sincerity in focussing on the people’s welfare.
He also expressed concern that setting up private wings in public hospitals would see these hospitals, most of which were already at maximum capacity, neglecting poor and vulnerable patients with resources being spread to the private wings.
The initiative, dubbed the Rakan MOH programme, will see Putrajaya expanding private wings at government-run hospitals, targeting patients from the M40 income group.
This is aimed at improving public healthcare standards and boosting its financial sustainability. Such services are currently available at 10 public hospitals.
Yesterday, deputy health minister Lukanisman Awang Sauni said the ministry will impose a cap on the amount of time doctors and specialists can allocate to these private wing patients.
He told the Dewan Rakyat that the ministry will not allow public hospitals to be overstrained by this initiative.