Corporatise ambulance services, says MMA

Star: KUALA LUMPUR: Corporatisation of emergency services in the country is an alternative the Government should consider to improve the ambulance services in the country, the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) said.
Its president Datuk Dr Teoh Siang Chin said the MMA agreed with the Health Ministry that the emergency services needed drastic improvement.
However, outsourcing the ambulance services to the private sector, as proposed by the ministry, had its own woes because the private sector was primarily about the bottom-line and profit, Dr Teoh added.
“Unless there is very close monitoring and enforcement, we may see the day when the one with the deepest pockets rather those with the greatest needs command the ambulances.”
He was responding to Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek’s statement on Tuesday that the ministry faced a “big problem” with the ambulance services and had proposed outsourcing the services.
“We would suggest the corporatisation route – much in the manner of the National Heart Institute.
“The entity is still owned by the Government but operates like a market-oriented service,” Dr Teoh added.