A SPECIAL task force on agency reforms is leading the initiatives to tackle overcrowding at public hospitals, Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof told the Dewan Rakyat today.

He said there are now discussions underway involving three ministries – health, finance and economy – the Malaysian Productivity Corporation, the Public Service Department, together with private medical practitioners.

In reply to Oscar Ling (Sibu-PH), who asked what steps are being taken to ease the overcrowding and improve the quality of health services, Fadillah said the overcrowding is due to improved health services.

He said the government could build more hospitals but the overcrowding would still be there because “people now have confidence in the quality of our healthcare service”.

To top that, Fadillah said the treatment is free.

The affordable cost, he added, draws people to seek treatment at public hospitals rather than private ones.

Fadillah said on the flip side, the lifestyle of Malaysians has led many to get treated at hospitals.

“The number of people seeking treatment means we have a poor, unhealthy lifestyle,” he said, pointing to the rise of non-communicable diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.

Fadillah said the other major cause of the overcrowding is the presence of patients with Long Covid who are receiving continuous treatment.

On congestion in the Emergency and Trauma Departments (ETD), the minister said its due to the number of patients in the green zone – an area for non-emergency, low-risk cases.

Fadillah said the number of patients frequently exceeded the optimal patient–doctor ratio.

“This causes longer waiting times.”

He said 70% of cases in the ETD are categorised as non-emergency, with people coming to get cuts and bruises, minor burns, muscle pains, fractures, breathing difficulties, and allergies treated.

Fadillah said among the proposals the task force had suggested and that could be implemented within a month, is to extend the operating hours of health clinics from the present 8pm closing time to 12am.

During peak hours, the hospital could refer the green zone cases to nearby public health clinics, he said.

He also outlined plans for the short-term (two to four months) and medium-term (five to eight months), to ease overcrowding.

In the short-term plan, the proposals are that all outpatient treatments will solely be at public health clinics and selected Health Ministry private health clinics.

Fadillah said if the outpatient is in a critical category and needs to be treated in the hospital, the public and private health clinics will issue a referral letter.

He said the government will reimburse the medical charges of the selected private health clinics but only those in the B40 and M40 groups.

In the intermediate term (five to eight months), there is a proposal for the public and the private sectors to work together on the sharing of medical equipment, he said.

Fadillah said patients needing magnetic resonance imaging scanning, a non-invasive way to examine organs, tissues and skeletal system, X-rays and CT scans, could be referred to private hospitals to ease congestion at government hospitals.

The longer term plan for implementation, nine months, is also another cooperation between public and private hospitals on minor surgeries and low-risk disease treatment on charges agreed upon by both parties. – February 28, 2023.