Ministry Coming Down Hard On Unregistered Private Clinics

PUTRAJAYA, Oct 12 (Bernama) -- The "doctor" has been operating at a so-called clinic in Shah Alam for quite some time, charging patients between RM350 and RM4,000 for procedures like removal of tumours, kidney stones and ovarian cysts.
Besides modern medical treatment, the clinic also offered traditional mode of treatment like "urut" and "bekam" to local and foreign patients, including VVIPs.
The Health Ministry got wind of its suspicious activities and decided to check on it on Sept 27, before raiding the premises with a search warrant Wednesday.
It would be this sort of premises that the ministry will go after when the Oct 31 deadline for registration of existing private clinics expires.
"By Nov 1, the focus of enforcement will be on unregistered clinics run by registered doctors, unregistered doctors or quacks," Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Mohd Ismail Merican told a press conference, here Thursday.
Explaining that offenders could face a fine of up to RM300,000 or six years' jail or both, he stressed: "Our priority is to rid the country of healthcare premises or services run by unregistered medical practitioners, bogus doctors or quacks providing modern healthcare services."
"We will raid such premises and take the owners, practitioners and quacks who provide such services to face the full brunt of the law," Dr Ismail warned.
The registration is required under the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998 with Oct 31 set as the end of a six-month transitional period for clinics to apply for registration. The law was enforced on May 1 2006.
As of yesterday, Dr Ismail said about 30 per cent of the estimated 8,000 clinics have applied for registration.
"There is no deferment of the implementation of the Act and regulations. The Oct 31 deadline for registration of existing private clinics remains," he said.
Dr Ismail said registered doctors operating unregistered clinics could still apply for registration after the deadline but their applications would be subjected to a premise inspection. He, nevertheless, said several types of healthcare facilities were exempted from the registration exercise.
They are factory and hotel in-house clinics, estate and offshore clinics as well as those run by voluntary organisations and the Federation of Malaysian Family Planning Associations.
Referring to the Shah Alam case, Dr Ismail said in yesterday's raid, the so-called doctor and his patients have fled, noting that the authorities knew his particulars based on their first visit to the premises last month.
He said they seized various equipment and documents from the clinic whose location he refused to identify.
"We'll investigate the case and send a report to the public prosecutor so that the person involved can be charged in court," he said.
Qualified traditional medicine practitioners should stick to their trade and refrain from indulging in modern healthcare services, he added.