Putrajaya Hospital to provide acupuncture, ayurvedic treatments soon

Star: PUTRAJAYA: Acupuncture, ayurvedic medicine, massage and herbal treatment will be some of the traditional and complementary medicine to be introduced at Putrajaya Hospital later this year.
Hospital director Dr Mohd Norzi Ghazali said patients checking in at the hospital would be able to opt for such treatments when the services are launched.
“Acupuncture experts from China and other countries will be employed on a contractual basis,” he said.
He was speaking to reporters recently after receiving RM400,000 from Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor.
The money will be used to construct new offices for the specialists, expand the existing car park for both visitors and hospital staff, and constructing a covered walkway for pedestrians.
Dr Mohd Norzi said Putrajaya Hospital would be one of the first few medical facilities in the country to offer these treatments besides Kepala Batas Hospital and Pandan Hospital in Johor Baru.
The hospital also implemented the “full-paying patient” concept from Wednesday, making it and Selayang Hospital the first public hospitals to do so.
The service provides patients with the option of being treated by specialists of their choice in an executive or first-class facility and be charged accordingly.
“The full-paying patient concept will provide a boost to our hospital, particularly in the field of medical tourism. We have set aside a special ward in our hospital for these patients,” he said.
He added that over the past year, the number of patients seeking treatment from the hospital had increased by 6%.
“The number of surgeries performed have also risen by 50%,” he said,
Tengku Adnan, who is also Putrajaya MP, said in his speech that he would be asking for allocations for a new community clinic to be built in the federal administrative centre, as the current one was too crowded.
“Of some 900 patients seeking treatment from our community clinic, about 80% of them are not staying in Putrajaya but are from surrounding areas like Banting, Dengkil and Puchong,” he said.