Government hospitals should lead by example

I refer to your report “Chua: Have a heart”(Star April 6).

We should support the call by Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek to private hospitals to give affordable heart surgery to those to the poor. In fact all forms of surgery and other treatment should be at affordable fee.

While we support his call to private hospitals to fulfill their social obligations to the community at large it would be not only feasible but ridiculous to arrange for the poor to be treated in Bangalore,India.This would not only be more costly overall but would also amount to abdicating our responsibility to our own rakyat.

The government has very advanced medical centers throughout the country for which the health ministry should be commended. Many patients continue to benefit from these facilities provided by the government, but there is still plenty of room for improvement in the quality of these services to the rakyat especially those from the lower income group.

The waiting time for heart surgery is undeniably very long and a significant number of them succumb to fatal heart attacks while waiting for definitive surgical treatment. There is also unacceptably long waiting time even for investigations and simple operations in most government hospitals. Even appointments to see specialist is too long for the comfort of these poor patients.

Furthermore most district hospitals may be well equipped but lack the services of specialists. They are manned by very junior medical officers and these hospitals really act to resuscitate and subsequently transporting the patients to bigger hospitals.

The Health Ministry should set the example for private hospitals to follow. It should improve the quality and efficiency of it services at all hospitals,especially for the poor. Specialist care, latest investigations and surgery should be made more easily available to them in a much shorter waiting time.

Dr.Chris Anthony