Public unhappy with govt medical services

Star: PUTRAJAYA: The Health Ministry will provide training to improve communication skills among government medical staff in view of the 1,896 comments it received from the public last year highlighting unsatisfactory service.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the ministry took seriously the complaints it received, and the other 34 registered by the Public Complaints Bureau under the Prime Minister’s Department.
He said the grouses were aimed at doctors, nurses, workers manning hotlines and also staff at Accident and Emergency units.
“Complaints included rude behaviour by medical staff, attitude showing lack of care, and failing to inform patients and family members of medical conditions,” he told reporters after launching the Health Ministry Corporate Culture Campaign here Monday.
He said there were also complaints over delays in releasing medical reports but the ministry had already tackled the problem by issuing a directive to all hospitals to release them within eight weeks.
Liow however said the reports on the weaknesses in the government medical service made up less than half of the total comments the ministry received; most of the other 3,148 actually commended the services and performance of the staff.
“We have to bear in mind that we have the same number of medical staff as privately run facilities, but we have to attend to 80% of the total patients nationwide; we are able to do this due to the dedication and commitment of our staff.
“They work during festive seasons when most other people are enjoying their leave and often even during their meal time too when there is a large number of patients -- they should be given credit for this,” he said.
He said the ministry received a RM600mil allocation under the Ninth Malaysia Plan to improve the performance of medical personnel at all levels, and communication skills training would be among the areas looked at.