COVID: Public and private hospitals to operate in a hybrid manner - Health DG

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the cluster would operate to treat COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients according to instructions issued by the MOH.

"As of Monday, there are 210 licensed private hospitals, of which 129 private hospitals offer inpatient services dealing with internal medicine. Of the total, 96 private hospitals have agreed to provide COVID-19 treatment, where the total number of (inpatient) beds (provided) so far is 1,252, as well as 65 ICU beds, and 54 ventilator machines.

"The government will optimise the capacity of existing laboratories, especially in government departments and public universities for large-scale COVID-19 testing and detection," he said in a statement on the development of COVID-19-related matters here today.

Dr Noor Hisham said this was the key approach identified during the National Security Council’s (MKN) Emergency meeting, where Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Zuki Ali announced that the government had decided to integrate public and private hospital services during the emergency period so that they could coordinate well, as well as to guarantee comprehensive and integrated health access for COVID-19 and non-COVID19 patients.

Dr Noor Hisham said suitable government buildings would also be identified to be used as swab taking centres.

"Mobilisation of assets such as vehicles will also be coordinated for public health services to be more integrated and orderly.

"Medical resources such as equipment, personal protective equipment (PPE), medicines will be mobilised according to the needs of the hospital, especially for public health services, including mobilising medical personnel such as nurses from private hospitals, especially those with specific expertise, to work temporarily in public hospitals," he said.

On the funding mechanism for COVID-19 patients by insurers at private hospitals, Dr Noor Hisham said it was being refined by the Ministry of Finance, MOH, Bank Negara Malaysia and the insurance industry.