Ministry To Check 'World Class' Claim By Heart Centres

KUALA LUMPUR, July 28 (Bernama) -- Health Ministry officials will check heart treatment centres that claim to be "world class" to ensure their services meet international standards.
Health Director-General Datuk Dr Mohd Ismail Merican said several heart centres were using the description casually with the intention to attract patients.
He described the trend as "disturbing".
"What kind of treatment and service at these centres are said to be 'world class'?" he asked when speaking to reporters after opening a symposium with the theme "Malaysian Cardiovascular Interventional with Live Transmission".
The four-day symposium is attended by more than 600 people from within and outside the country.
There are 34 heart treatment centres in the country and one more will be opening this year at the Serdang Hospital in Selangor.
On another matter, Dr Ismail urged doctors at government hospitals to manage their time well so that patients did not have to wait long to be treated.
"Based on spot checks at hospitals, I find that many doctors did not arrive for work at the required time. The doctors said they started to see patients at 9am but patients had to wait until 10am," he said.
On a Bernama report on July 8 that patients at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital's obstetrics and gynaecology (O&G) department had to wait between four and five hours for treatment, Dr Ismail said doctors in other hospitals treating more than 100 patients in the O&G and post-natal clinics could complete their work by 12.30pm or 1pm.
"So why is it that the doctors have to work until the evening at HKL?" he said.
"The process of providing service must be continuous and HKL must ensure that the doctors on duty are there. If this is adhered to, I am certain all the patients could be attended to by 1pm," he said.