Public hospitals up to par

NST: Despite the negative perception, public hospitals are better than private establishments.
This is because most of the 125 public hospitals in the country adhere strictly to the high standards imposed by the Malaysian Society for Quality in Health (MSQH), Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek said today.
He gave an assurance that patients in accredited hospitals would receive the best possible care in a safe environment at a minimum cost. Dr Chua said these hospitals had put in place the high standards set by the MSQH, with the focus on clinical areas.
Eighty-five of the 125 hospitals in the country have gone through the MSQH accreditation training up to June and 52 of them have achieved certification.
Some of the accredited public hospitals are Kuala Lumpur Hospital, Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang, Kota Baru Hospital, Penang Hospital and Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital in Kuantan.
In the private sector, only 15 of the 219 hospitals are accredited.
These include the Ampang Puteri Specialist Centre, Subang Jaya Medical Centre, Sunway Medical Centre, and Pantai Medical Centre.
Dr Chua said the MSQH standards were subject to frequent revision and updating in line with advances in medical knowledge, practices and technologies.
"It is wise for patients to seek treatment at accredited facilities."
Dr Chua was speaking after launching a 64-multislice CT scanner costing RM4 million at Pantai Medical Centre here. He also witnessed the awarding of the MSQH Accreditation Certificate to the hospital.
The minister urged all hospitals that have yet to embark on the accreditation journey to do so quickly.
The reward is universal acclaim that the accredited hospital has met most, if not all, of the rigorous international standards for quality of care.
MSQH is affiliated with the International Society for Quality in Healthcare (ISQua) and the ISQua Federation, a body that oversees accreditation programmes worldwide.
Dr Chua commended Pantai Medical Centre for its efforts to upgrade quality of facilities and services.
He noted that the 64-multislice CT scanner is at the forefront of computerised tomographic imaging today.
With the addition of the machine, he said, the centre could provide more sensitive anatomical imaging for patients, particularly in the early diagnosis of coronary artery diseases.
At present, only Sarawak Hospital has such a scanner. Three are scheduled to be installed at cardiac centres in the peninsula under the Ninth Malaysia Plan.
At present, Dr Chua said, 22 public hospitals have CT scan facilities and another 18 hospitals, mainly district hospitals, would also be equipped with them under the Ninth Malaysia Plan.