Work to meet expectations, healthcare providers told

NST: KUALA LUMPUR: Healthcare providers have been asked to walk the extra mile to meet the expectations of their patients.
Director-General of Health Datuk Dr Ismail Merican said the demands on the Malaysian government health system and its staff had changed dramatically over the years.
"The public is selective and expects a health delivery system that is not just exemplary from the medical point of view, but one that gives added value to the services provided," he said.
Dr Ismail was speaking at the Continued Professional Development (CPD) Professional Award Day 2005 at Kuala Lumpur Hospital yesterday.
He said in view of this, doctors and all allied health staff must ensure that they had sufficient knowledge in their respective areas of professionalism and continue to upgrade themselves.
He said it was important that all healthcare providers were aware of what was happening in the academic world.
"We need to get access to the latest medical journals to pick up the bits that may make a difference between success and failure," he said.
Commending KLH for introducing the clinical skills laboratory to enhance the abilities of its staff, Dr Ismail said this would eventually be introduced in all hospitals as part of a government training exercise to provide quality care to patients.
He said the ministry would allocate RM300 million for training and another RM300 million for outsourcing under the Ninth Malaysia Plan to upgrade the quality of existing staff in skills and specialisations.
Meanwhile, Deputy Health Minister Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad said that the CPD Professional award was another way of encouraging all staff to participate in medical education and professional development programmes organised by hospitals and the ministry.