Liow: Specialists can help ease shortage in district hospitals

Star: SERI KEMBANGAN: The Health Ministry is hiring qualified foreign specialists on a contract basis to provide improved access to medical services at the district level.
Its minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said putting these experts in district hospitals would help reduce congestion in general hospitals.
He said the ministry would work directly with the governments of Egypt, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka to bring good quality specialists in six disciplines – internal medicine, paediatric, surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, orthopaedic as well as anaesthesia.
However, this would be a short-term measure while the government trained more local doctors, he told reporters after attending a charity dinner organised by Ser­dang Lions Club on Thursday.
Liow said many district hospitals did not have specialists, so patients turned to general hospitals for medical services.
“The public’s expectation has changed and people prefer to see specialists rather than general practitioners. Currently, we need a few hundred specialists at district hospitals.”
Liow said there were some 30,000 doctors in the government and private sectors, out of which only 5,000 were specialists.
The country has enough doctors, but is short of specialists, he added.

Liow also said employers were required to buy a health insurance policy for their foreign plantation workers and domestic helpers from this year, adding that the Government had decided that employers in the two sectors would have to bear the cost of the insurance.
“For foreign workers who are already working in Malaysia, they are required to purchase their insurance policy within three months (from Jan 1),” he said in a press statement yesterday.
From Jan 1, foreign workers must buy a RM120 premium per year Foreign Worker Hospitalisation and Surgical Scheme (SKHPPA) that provides RM10,000 coverage a year, he said.
Liow said for workers who are currently working in the country, the premium cost would be based on the calculation of days left from the work permit.
“Foreign workers who failed to get the insurance would not be allowed to renew their work permit when the permit expired.”
Liow said 17 insurance companies had agreed to provide the insurance scheme, adding that 11 companies were ready to offer the scheme from Jan 1.
They are AXA Affin General Insurance Bhd, Berjaya Sompo Insurance Bhd, Jerneh Insurance Bhd, Kurnia Insurans (M) Bhd, Lonpac Insurance Bhd, Malaysian Assurance Alliance Bhd, MUI Continental Insurance Bhd, Progressive Insurance Bhd, RHB Insurance Bhd, The Pacific Insurance Bhd, Tokio Marine Insurance (M) Bhd.
Four companies will offer their scheme from Feb 1 and they are Allianz General Insurance Company (M) Bhd, QBE Insurance (M) Bhd, Overseas Assurance Corporation (M) Bhd and Syarikat Takaful (M) Bhd.