Public hospital service in rude health, says Chua

Star: SABAK BERNAM: An expectant mother was ticked off by a nurse after she complained about the long wait for her check-up at a government hospital.
“Siapa suruh kamu gatal-gatal?” (Who asked you to be so horny?) the nurse snapped at the patient.
At another hospital, a nurse only told the doctor she did not get the blood pressure reading of a patient after an hour.
These are among the complaints on the attitude of staff in public hospitals that have reached the ears of Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek.
“Patients frequently write to me, to tell me about how public hospital staff had treated them.
“Recently, I had a meeting with nurses’ representatives. There was a general observation that nurses of yesteryears seem to be more friendly,” said Dr Chua during his visit to the Tengku Ampuan Jemaah Hospital here.
He reminded nurses, doctors and other medical staff in public hospitals that they were in a service-oriented industry.
Dr Chua acknowledged that work in public hospitals could be stressful with the high patient-load and insufficient medical equipment.
“The ministry will try its hardest to equip hospitals with the needed machines. That may take time and money.
“However, the major complaints from patients seem to be the lack of courtesy.”
On the escalating public health expenditure, Dr Chua said the amount was nearing “astronomical” proportions.
For instance, public hospitals spent RM900mil per year in recent years on medicine purchases, compared with RM250mil annually some 10 years ago.
Under the Ninth Malaysia Plan, Dr Chua said RM10.7bil had been allocated for ministry administration, including paying the wages of medical staff.
“Compare this amount to the estimated RM1bil payment we receive from patients.
“No other country has such high subsidy. We may not be able to sustain this for long.”