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The Health | October , 2020
| Local News |
Malaysia wins 4th world health award
Malaysia has won the “ Health and
Medical Tourism : Destination of the Year ” title for the fourth time .
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah dedicated the win , which was announced at the 2020 Medical Tourism Award ceremony in London recently , to all the stakeholders in Malaysia ’ s healthcare sector .
“ Once again my heartiest congratulations to the entire team ,” he said on Facebook .
The Malaysian Health Tourism Council ( MHTC ) said in a statement that the win enhanced the country ’ s position as the world ’ s healthcare marvel and reflects the steadfast commitment from relevant organisations in ensuring dedicated health care amidst the Covid-19 pandemic .
Meanwhile , MHTC continued its winning streak by clinching an impressive fourth “ Cluster of the Year ” award .
MHTC attributed the win to the solid publicprivate partnerships that have been integral to Malaysia Healthcare ’ s thriving growth in the past few years .
Several private Malaysian healthcare institutions also secured wins at the prestigious event . Among them were Sunway Fertility Centre ( International Fertility Clinic of the Year ); Prince Court Medical Centre ( International Hospital of the Year ); Sunway Eye Centre ( International Eye Clinic of the Year ); and Thompson Hospital Kota Damansara ( Best Quality Initiative ). — Bernama
Public Bank holds repayment assistance clinics to help customers after moratorium expiry
Public Bank Bhd is holding Repayment Assistance Clinics ( PBB RAC ) at major cities and towns nationwide to help customers who require further assistance following the ending of the loan moratorium on Sept 30 , 2020 .
In a statement , the bank said the clinics would be held on Saturday and Sunday for six weeks , starting Sept 19 , 2020 . To participate , the bank said customers can access its website for event details and pre-registration procedures .
“ As part of its relief measures , Public Bank has developed repayment assistance packages which suit different customer ’ s financial conditions . The Bank has also been very proactive in engaging customers about the relief measures in place ,” said Public Bank Managing Director and CEO Tan Sri Tay Ah Lek .
“ In addition to the digital platform which enables customers to submit online application , we are organising the weekend PBB RAC as an additional channel for customers who need further assistance on application . This is also to provide more convenience to customers who are unable to visit our branches during weekdays ,” he said . — The Edge Markets
More allocation needed for country ’ s health system expenditure , says Senator
Instead of a lockdown , experts suggest alternatives like temporary ban on inter-State travel
AlthOUGh Covid-19 cases in the country is on the rise , health experts believe another lockdown would decimate the nation ’ s already-fragile economy .
Instead , they suggest the government take a few alternative steps .
Malaysian Medical Association ( MMA ) president Professor Datuk Dr M . Subramaniam told Malay Mail a temporary ban on inter-State travel would not be a bad idea seeing how many returnees from Sabah are positive for Covid-19 with cases reaching the high 200s .
“ MMA strongly feels the government should look into imposing certain restrictions on interstate travel for a period as a precautionary measure .
“ Returnees from Sabah during this time must ensure that they strictly adhere to the quarantine and SOPs . These two weeks will be crucial in preventing another Movement Control Order ( MCO ),” added Dr Subramaniam .
Health director-general Tan Sri Noor Hisham Abdullah has repeatedly reminded the public that the virus is in the community and if a particular place has a high rate of infection , like Bangau- Bangu , that means more people in the community have the virus but have not been tested .
The last time Malaysia had to impose a lockdown or movement control order ( MCO ), Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the government lost RM2.4 billion every day business was suspended .
Dr Khor Swee Kheng , who is part of a support group Malaysian Health Coalition , also agreed a lockdown may not be the only solution and preferred the government refine their Targeted Enhanced MCO ( TEMCO ) instead .
“ Malaysia cannot sustain the cost of a second nationwide lockdown , as there will be worse financial , economic and psychological damage ,” Dr Khor said .
“ Our policy of targeted and localised TEMCOs have proven to work well , most recently in various parts of Kedah . As we learn lessons from the first nine months of fighting Covid-19 , we must refine the TEMCO approach so that we can control the disease while limiting the cost of doing so .”
The entire state of Sabah has also been barred from inter-district travel from October 3 to 16 .
Respiratory physician Dr Helmi Haja Mydin noted that a lockdown at this time would be impractical due to the reasons mentioned above .
The economic fallout would result in job losses and as such the government needs to find that right balance between public safety and economic interests .
There is a need for the government to increase the allocation for expenditure in the country ’ s health system , said Senator Robert Lau Hui Yew .
He said this is in view of the Covid-19 pandemic which has greatly impacted the society and the health sector .
“ Under this sector , towns and villages in Sarawak and Sabah are in desperate need of better health facilities as there are significant differences in terms of investment and facilities in Peninsular Malaysia compared to the East Malaysian States ,” he said when debating the motion of thanks for the royal address by the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong during a Dewan Negara session in Kuala Lumpur recently .
He pointed out that Sarawak also faced a similar problem with its hospital workforce .
“ Recently , there were 102 permanent medical officer positions available at hospitals in the State . However , less than 10 per cent of these positions have been offered to Sarawakian medical officers .
“ A total of 30 medical officers from Peninsular Malaysia who were offered the permanent positions rejected the offer but these posts were not offered to the Sarawakian medical officers .“
“ Instead , they were later offered to other medical officers from Peninsular Malaysia ,” he said .
He also mentioned that only seven per cent of Malaysia ’ s doctors serve in Sarawak .
“ Overall , the ‘ doctor : population ’ ratio in Sarawak is 1:892 and if we were to make comparisons through divisions , Kuching is 1:604 ; Kapit is 1:1,721 and Mukah is 1:2,038 whereas in Klang Valley , the ratio is 1:150 ,” he said . — Malay Mail