Compulsory NS medical check-ups hit a snag

Star: KUALA LUMPUR: Confusion is growing over whether national service trainees will get to undergo compulsory medical check-ups at the start of their stint.
Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said any plan for the medical check-up required his ministry’s endorsement.
“It will need a lot of manpower and is very costly,” he said, adding that his ministry never promised to place five health personnel in each national service camp.
He said there could only be between two and four medical officers on stand by at each of the 87 NS training camps nationwide.
Liow was speaking to reporters after launching the 5th International Health Fair at the Putra World Trade Centre yesterday.
On Nov 17, The Star reported on its front page that all NS trainees would be subject to compulsory medical check-ups within two weeks reporting to their camp.
NS Training Department director-general Datuk Abdul Hadi Awang Kechil was quoted as saying that the move was to reduce health-related mishaps during training.
Liow said the medical screening that the department required for its trainees in the first two weeks of the programme could not include in-depth check-ups such as blood and urine tests and x-ray.
He said if what was being suggested was only screening by the department’s own staff, then he said the ministry has “no objection”.
In an immediate response, department senior operations officer Lt-Col Tengku Ahmad Noor Tuan Chik confirmed that compulsory health checks would be conducted on trainees.
Only trainees with a history of health problems would be sent to an outside clinic for a full medical examination, he said.
On the number of medical officers in camps, he said an initial meeting agreed that the Health Ministry would place five of its officers on standby in each camp.
“But now, it is a minimum of three medical staff from the ministry due to their manpower shortage,” he said.
He said there would be two armed forces paramedics, one qualified civilian nurse, and a minimum of three officers from the ministry in every camp.
On an unrelated matter, Liow said the ministry had outlined a plan to combat non-communicable or lifestyle diseases such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
He said he would submit a memorandum on the plan for the Cabinet’s approval soon because it involved the cooperation of the Education and Women, Children and Community Development Ministries.
Later when launching the Meatless Day Pledge Signing ceremony, Liow urged restaurants and school canteen operators to display the calorie content of their food and drinks to educate diners and children on proper food intake and nutrition.