130 Covid-19 screening centres set up in private healthcare facilities so far
February 2, 2021 @ 10:24am
KUALA LUMPUR: Private healthcare players have assured that they are prepared to receive Covid-19 patients as instructed by the government previously.
Private Healthcare Productivity Nexus' (PHPN) chairman, Datuk Dr Jacob Thomas said private hospitals initially prepared 71 ventilators to be used by public hospitals but cases requiring Intensive Care Units (ICU) and Coronary Care Units (CCU) had begun to drop at the time.
"Besides that, non-Covid-19 patients, such as those requiring dialysis and surgery, have also been transferred to private hospitals.
"Apart from minimising the risk of infection, this has helped to increase the capacity of wards and beds in government hospitals," he said in a statement yesterday.
This matter, he said, was also affirmed by the Association of Private Hospitals of Malaysia (APHM) president Datuk Dr Kuljit Singh in a separate statement.
Jacob said, private healthcare providers have stepped up assistance for the public healthcare sector as new Covid-19 cases continue to rise unabated.
"Among measures taken by PHPN to assist the government is to set up Covid-19 screening centres at private hospitals as well as carrying out swab tests for foreign workers.
"To date, 130 private facilities have set up Covid-19 screening centres.
"PHPN has also taken proactive measures to establish a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model when the pandemic hit our shores to encourage participation of the private healthcare sector and to enhance the healthcare service offered by the government."
He said these initiatives were aimed at preventing public healthcare facilities from becoming congested with Covid-19 patients.
Jacob urged private hospitals to maximise their resources, such as equipment, expertise, technology and caretaking as this would boost their services amidst the pandemic and take the burden off public hospitals.
This would lead to an increase in productivity in public hospitals, and reduce physical and mental stress endured by health frontliners while battling the pandemic, he added.