KUALA LUMPUR, March 26 – Sunway Healthcare has pledged up to RM12 million to subsidise the cost of treatment for non-coronavirus patients transferred from government hospitals amid the Covid-19 outbreak.
This is in addition to allocating 100 beds across both Sunway Medical Centre and Sunway Medical Centre Velocity for these patients decanted from Ministry of Health (MOH) medical facilities and Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), so that the public health care system can focus on treating Covid-19.
“The working group discussion has now reached its final phase and both Sunway Medical Centre and Sunway Medical Centre Velocity will soon start to receive these public patients at existing government rates,” said Sunway Group in a statement.
The move is anticipated to benefit about 4,000 public patients.
Apart from that, Sunway Healthcare has also invested in essential equipment to battle Covid-19. Sunway hospitals have seen an addition of extensive respiratory screening tents for identifying patients or visitors with Covid-19 symptoms, new thermal scanners, powered air purifying respirators, and negative pressure cabins.
“Such investments weighed heavily on the hospitals’ resources but were deemed critical to ensure the welfare of our doctors, nurses, patients and our communities.”
Sunway Healthcare’s pledge is part of Sunway Group’s contribution worth RM34 million to fight the Covid-19 outbreak in Malaysia that has infected nearly 1,800 people and killed 21.
Sunway Group donated RM1 million to the government’s Covid-19 fund to help people directly affected by the Covid-19 outbreak, specifically unemployed Covid-19 patients and those under quarantine.
Apart from that, Sunway has also promised to donate RM300,000 for the aid of bottom 40 per cent (B40) communities around Sunway townships, whose lives were affected by the virus.
“The impact of Covid-19 on larger businesses is universal.
“However, it is now important for us to pay attention to those who need it the most – Covid-19 patients who have lost their jobs because of the disease, the non-essential retailers who have had to shut down their businesses temporarily, our own employees who have been affected, and also our front-line health care staff comprising doctors and nurses as well as other employees within the Sunway health care division who are at risk while serving national interests,” said Sunway Group founder and chairman Jeffrey Cheah, who is on the government’s Economic Action Council.
Sunway’s retail division granted rent-free days to non-essential retailers at Sunway-owned malls that were forced to shut down during the Movement Control Order from March 18 to April 14. The malls are Sunway Pyramid, Sunway Velocity, Sunway Carnival, Sunway Putra, Sunway Big Box Retail Park, Sunway Giza and Sunway Citrine.