BN government committed in providing quality medical, treatment at low rates

Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the Barisan Nasional (BN) government is committed to providing quality medical and treatment at low rates to the people.

The Prime Minister said each year the government has allocated a large sum for medical assistance and cost of purchasing hemodialysis machines in hospitals.

"In the annual budget that I tabled over the years, the government ensures the welfare of the patient is guaranteed especially those with chronic diseases such as kidney damage," he said in his latest Facebook posting Wednesday.

In the Budget implementation survey at the Shah Alam Hospital today, Najib took the opportunity to visit its hemodialysis unit which each week can benefit 78 kidney patients with 20 new hemodialysis machines.

The hospital will operate in-patient beginning January 2016 and can reduce dependence and congestion at other hospitals such as the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang.

Najib, who is also the Finance Minister, said dialysis patients now only needed to pay RM13 for each session at any government hospital compared to between RM200 and RM250 at a private service centre.

He said government hospitals did not impose a consultation charge and have fixed low rates for medical and other services compared to private service charge.

"The government remains concerned to help people in need," he said in the entry, which also shows several photos of him during a briefing by the hospital director Dr Hasni Hanapi and interacting with specialists in the hospital.

"For those who need services such as women's maternity ward, bed charges are only between RM3 and RM80 per night at government hospitals like in the Shah Alam Hospital.

"The total cost is between RM13 to RM390 in government hospitals. Compare this with the cost of private hospital, at least 11 times higher," said Najib, who posted image slides on the cost.

In the survey, he said the hospital's head of the Department of Pharmacy Specialist also explained the difference between the cost of medicine in private and government hospitals, in which healthcare in government hospitals was free.

Besides that, Najib said he had also been briefed by the impact of the zero-rated Goods and Services Tax (GST) imposition on all types of Controlled Medicine under the Poisons Group A, B, C and D which were announced in the Budget recently.

"It involves a double increase, from 4,215 to 8,630 medicine brands," said the Prime Minister, who also asked doctors to continue with the noble efforts in providing treatment to those in need.