Materia Medica Malaysiana

No Licence To Heal

KUALA LUMPUR: A private medical centre in Klang has been operating illegally over the past two years without a licence.

Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek told The Malay Mail that the Andalas Medical Centre was due to renew its licence in September 2001 but had failed to do so.

"The centre appears to have a problem in getting the renewal (for its licence). (So) it is illegal," said Dr Chua at his office in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

He said the centre was required to submit a fire safety certificate to the Health Ministry to ensure that it had adhered to safety aspects. It was also to obtain a permit from the Ministry for an X-ray licence and to offer related (X-ray) services. These were part of the yearly licensing process.

However, the centre did not comply with the requirements.

"Since two years ago, we have sent them three reminders, the last being in February (this year) but they had not fulfilled the requirements," said Dr Chua.

"We are aware they are running it illegally but we have no Act to act (against them)!," he said.

Dr Chua said although the Private Hospitals Act 1971 could be applied on the Andalas Medical Centre for its failure to comply, there was nothing much the Ministry could do due to its limited enforcement powers under the "present rules and regulations".

To a question whether the centre could be shut down considering its illegal operations, Dr Chua said: "We can't do much under the Act, for instance, close it down... as it does not give us the bite for enforcement," he said.

Dr Chua said the Ministry could lodge a police report for action to be taken against the centre for operating an illegal establishment.

"Then, if the matter is brought to court, the operator could be charged and fined a maximum of RM1,000." However, he declined to comment whether a police report would be lodged against the medical centre which is believed to have been in operation for more than five years.

"The Ministry's Pharmaceutical Services Department could also act against the medical centre's doctors if they are foreign nationals who have not been registered as practitioners in the country, a mandatory requirement by the Ministry," he said.

"This can be enforced under the Poisons Act if the (foreign) doctors were caught in the act of writing prescriptions," he explained.

As enforcement powers are lacking in the current Private Hospitals Act (1971), Dr Chua said a new Act, called the Private Health Care, Facilities and Services Act 1998, is being drawn up.

He said that when enforced, it would cover, among others, medical clinics, dental clinics, haemodialysis centres and hospices (palliative care for cancer patients).

It will then give the Ministry the powers to seal, inspect, prosecute and impose a fine of RM300,000 or imprisonment not exceeding six months, or both.

The new Act (1998) is in the final stages and could be enforced this year.

It was reported in The Malay Mail yesterday that Indian national S. Malini had claimed that she had not been paid her salary since January, and that her passport was being withheld by the medical centre as they were applying for a work permit for her.

Malini, who had been in Malaysia since September to work with the medical centre as a radiographer, alleged that it (the centre) had never applied for a work permit for her and had been giving excuses each time she inquired about her passport.

However, her claims have been denied by the medical centre which stated that Malini was on attachment with them, and was never on its payroll.

The medical centre's finance and human resources manager, R. Sushela, had said that Malini was brought from India by her sponsors to attend an "on-the-job interview".