Calls for immediate action on private healthcare workers' distress during roadblocks

KUALA LUMPUR: The Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia calls for immediate action on the distress to some of the private healthcare workers who are not considered as essential care by the security forces manning roadblocks and public transport stations during the total lockdown under the Movement Control Order (MCO) 3.0.

Its president, Datuk Dr Kuljit Singh, said currently, private hospitals were actively involved in the pandemic from regular walk-in testing, treating COVID-19 in intensive care units (ICU) and managing vaccine centres, hence, any delay at roadblocks and security checkpoints could lead to disastrous events in the private hospital.

"We fully understand that the possibility of some who will try to impersonate a healthcare worker to get through roadblocks, but all private healthcare workers are equipped with letters from private hospital human resource departments or CEOs with photo-identification badges and contact numbers for verification.

"We are willing to have a dialogue session with the National Security Council on this matter and we have written a letter on this matter earlier today," he said in a statement today.

He said private hospitals were licensed under the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act (Act 586) and there should not be any approval requirement by the Ministry of International Trade Industry (MITI) and the non-clinical staff, apart from doctors, nurses and pharmacist, in hospitals were required to be physically at work which was part of the service of the hospital.

"We hope that our medical consultants are given equal treatment like their counterparts in Ministry of Health (MoH) to use special lanes at the roadblocks as often there are urgent emergencies to attend to.

"The association has worked hard to be in the forefront with the government in managing this pandemic and we appeal to have some flexibility so that our staff will be able to contribute optimally," he added.

-- BERNAMA