Adjustments yes, but Healthcare Act stays

NST: KUALA LUMPUR: There will be some flexibility but the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act will come into force without major changes.
Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek, who met with representatives of private hospitals and clinics, has put his foot down, saying that there will be no compromise on patients’ rights, safety and quality of health care.
While admitting that some adjustments were necessary, he said provisions to protect patients’ rights — for example the right to know, to consent, to air their grievances, to receive emergency treatment and quality care — remained unchanged.

Flexibility allowed in some cases include:
• Provision of public telephones in clinics is no longer required.
• Except for those that perform major surgeries, clinics need not have power generators.
• Only the annual practising certificate is needed to register clinics and hospitals. The deadline to register is extended to the end of November;
• The certificate of fitness for occupancy and the certificate from the Fire and Rescue Department may be substituted with a copy of the current assessment rate. The accurate scale floor plan can be replaced with a sketch plan that includes dimensions of physical structures for the registration.
• Requirement for two referees to attest to the character of doctors is done away with and the particulars of staff other than the medical or dental practitioners employed by clinics are no longer required.
• There is no need to report social or welfare contribution activities. Doctors are given a year to rectify minor structural non-conformity after the date of registration, and,
• The Director-General of Health is required to give reasons for refusing to issue a licence or register any private hospital or clinic.

During the meeting, Malaysian Medical Association president Datuk Dr Teoh Siang Chin, Malaysian Dental Association president Dr Wong Foot Meow and Federation of Private Medical Practitioners Association of Malaysia president Dr Steven Chow agreed to get their 8,000 over members to register before the Nov 30 deadline.
Dr Chua said the ministry had no problems with the registration of private hospitals.
Dr Teoh said they were pleased to have reached an agreement with the ministry on some of the grouses raised by doctors.
Overall, Dr Wong said, the Act was good as it helped doctors to have good clinical practice.