Three Govt Hospitals To Offer Traditional Treatment

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 12 (Bernama) -- Three government hospitals have been selected to offer traditional treatment under the Ninth Malaysia Plan alongside modern and clinical medicine.
The three are Putrajaya Hospital, Kepala Batas Hospital and Pandan Hospital in Johor Baharu, Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek told reporters after visiting Tung Shin Hospital in Pudu.
The government would also table a new legislation in Parliament next year to accord professional recognition to traditional medicine practitioners in the country, he said.
He said the Traditional and Complementary Medicine Bill 2006 was in the final stage of drafting.
The proposed legislation would also facilitate the setting up of a Traditional and Complementary Council that would be responsible for drawing up the standards for the practitioners and their medicines.
Presently, close to 7,000 traditional practitioners had registered themselves with the Health Ministry and the bulk of them were practicing Chinese medicine, Dr Chua said.
The rest were Malay medicine practitioners (200), Indian medicine practitioners (50), homeotherapy practitioners (691) and reflexology masseurs (216), he said.
He said traditional medicine practitioners were allowed to offer their services at government hospitals but they were prohibited from carrying out clinical tasks.
The government was also studying other aspects including the payment and compensation for insurance claim for traditional treatment as well as other charges for services rendered.
Dr Chua said traditional treatment was normal after the patients had undergone crucial medical procedure like chemotherapy and surgery,
"They help a lot in relieving pain and emotion of the patients," he said.