Materia Medica Malaysiana

Retired staff upset by UMMC ‘about-turn’

About 150 pioneer staff of the then University Hospital (UH), who had each put in more then 25 years on the job, received a rude shock recently when they learnt they are now not entitled to free medical care at the hospital.
Retired UH Staff Union council member and coordinator for retirement benefits K. Vellaithan said the hospital, now known as University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), had refused to provide medical benefits to the retired staff, comprising nurses, and para-medical, professional and administrative staff who were under the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) scheme.
Most of staff had been with the hospital since it opened in 1966.
Vellaithan said employees in a similar scheme at Bank Negara, Tenaga Nasional and the EPF continued to get free medical benefits from public hospitals, including the UMMC.
“The withdrawal of medical benefits came as a great shock to us. Few have medical insurance coverage and as senior citizens we need medical care.
“Some of us are still burdened with housing loans and cannot afford to pay the private sector medical charges,” he said.
UMMC director Datuk Dr Mohd Amin Jamaluddin said it was government policy to provide benefits to those in the pensionable scheme, as they did not get a big gratituty when they retired.
“Nevertheless, they were our staff and we usually evaluate their appeals and provide the medical benefits on a year-to-year basis.
“Once the National Health Financing Scheme is introduced, those under the EPF will have their medical needs taken care of,” he added.
However, Vellaithan said the hospital had failed to honour its commitment made 17 year ago.
In 1986, they were promised retirement medical benefits if they remained at the hospital at a time when there was an exodus of nursing and professional staff to the private sector and other countries.
The medical benefit scheme was announced in a circular on Oct 4, 1986. A press statement dated July 28,1986, had also said that the staff would be issued with a Kad Pesara Skim KWSP Hospital University upon retirement.