Materia Medica Malaysiana

Long Waiting Time Not At All Hospitals, Says Health DG

KOTA BAHARU, Nov 30 (Bernama) -- The problem of patients waiting a long time for treatment is not happening at all government hospitals, Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Mohamad Taha Arif said Tuesday.
He said the problem occurred only at certain hospitals in big cities and did not have anything to do with the shortage of doctors but with society's belief that better treatment could be obtained at bigger hospitals.
This caused congestion at hospitals and "we can shorten the waiting time but would we be satisfied being checked by a doctor for just a minute or two?" he said after the MS ISO 9001:2000 ceremony for the Kelantan Health Department here.
Dr Mohamad Taha said congestion also occurred at hospital emergency units after the operation hours for the outpatient treatment units ended.
He said the Health Ministry also found that there were sufficient doctors to provide complete care for patients at hospital emergency units.
Meanwhile, he commended the Kelantan Health Department for being the first agency to be granted the MS ISO 9001:2000 certificates for all eight of its district health offices.
"This proves that the standard of our health service is the best and has been recognised by an international body," he said.