Hospitals: We need to study the new law

NST: The Government yesterday received the thumbs-up for its decision to force private hospitals to treat emergency cases even if the patient is unable to come up with a deposit.
Association of Private Hospitals of Malaysia president Tan Sri Dr Abu Bakar Suleiman said: "It’s an important issue and we have been waiting for the regulation to come into force.
"I hope the regulation will be made available to us before its implementation on May 1. We need to study the law and what is required of the private hospitals."
He said as far as the association was concerned, it had been made clear that private hospitals should treat emergency cases and not turn patients away.
"It’s important that those in the accident and emergency rooms are trained to handle emergency cases.
"I am sure no doctor would want to turn away an emergency case, even if the patient cannot afford to pay at that moment."
Saying the fee schedule was a complex issue, he added: "I am not sure whether the ministry has some form of fee system for emergency cases."
Sallehuddean Latiff, the uncle of Khairul Anuar Salim who died at a private hospital after an alleged delay in attending to him caused by the family’s inability to immediately come up with a deposit, said: "I strongly support the new regulation. The most important thing is to save the patient’s life."
He said private hospitals were generally considered more efficient than government hospitals, but putting money ahead of a person’s life was unacceptable.
"It is not a matter of whether or not we can pay the deposit. At that point in time, the most important thing is to save the person’s life.
"Procedures such as filling up forms before the patient can be treated takes up precious time, which the patient may not have.
"The hospitals must realise they are dealing with human lives. Doctors should not start thinking that they are businessmen, instead of medical practitioners who have vowed to save lives."
National Consumer Complaints Centre manager Darshan Singh described the move as timely. "We have had many cases where a delay in the treatment of patients proved fatal because the hospital staff asked for a deposit before the patient was admitted. The charges imposed by private hospitals are artificially inflated, exorbitant and they increase on an almost daily basis.
"It is about time the minister stepped in to regulate the charges for treatment and ensure that they are affordable to consumers."
He said the hospitals and the minister should have the consumer in mind when deciding on the proper charges to be imposed for treatment at private hospitals.