THE family of the Singaporean who died chose to have him discharged to seek treatment in a Singapore hospital, even though they understood the risk of delaying treatment, the Ministry of Health (MoH) said today.
 
In the statement today, director-general of MoH Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the patient at the Sultan Aminah Hospital in Johor Baru was referred to the neurosurgery team for an urgent decompressive craniectomy and the removal of a clot, and intracranial pressure monitoring, and no demand was made for a deposit.
 
“Subsequent to this, the family members arrived, and only then were they were asked to proceed with payment for imaging amounting to RM2,675.
 
“However the family members opted for discharge at own risk and arranged for admission to a hospital in Singapore after understanding the risk involved in further delay of surgery,” he said, in response to allegations published on theindependent.sg that a Malaysian hospital had withheld treatment for a Singaporean patient, who later died, pending payment of a deposit.

Justinian Tan of Singapore was the victim of a hit-and-run who was sent to the Sultan Aminah Hospital for treatment, which his family and friends allege was withheld until payment was made. They also claim that the Malaysian authorities were slow to respond to the road incident.
 
Noor Hisham today denied the claim that the ambulance took 30 minutes to arrive, saying that the record showed that it was despatched within two minutes after the distress call was received.
 
“The emergency call was made at 2.57am on August 25 and the ambulance left at 2.59am, arriving at the scene at 3.10am. It departed the scene at 3.15am,” he said.
 
He said upon arrival at the hospital, Tan was brought into the Red Zone, where the advanced trauma life support (ATLS) protocol that was applied by the ambulance team was continued.
 
Noor Hisham said the emergency department also initiated the necessary imaging treatment that included primary survey X-rays and CT-scan of brain and thorax, and intubation, and referred the case to the relevant department in a timely and professional manner.

He said the case was treated as an emergency and no demand was made for a deposit, in line with the MoH policy for foreigners seeking treatment in public hospitals.
 
“The MoH has always valued life and does its utmost to treat any patient, regardless of background and nationality,” said Noor Hisham. – September 1, 2017.