KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 – Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim today proposed an outsourcing exercise under Budget 2023 for outpatients in congested Ministry of Health (MOH) hospitals to other facilities.
Anwar’s written text of his Budget 2023 speech mentioned that the outsourcing exercise would divert outpatient cases to university, military, and private hospitals, although his verbal remarks in the Dewan Rakyat omitted mention of private hospitals.
“We will try to resolve the congestion at government hospitals, including outsourcing patients from congested hospitals to other hospitals and also to implement several schemes, including agreed-upon university and military hospitals that will be given equipment to help reduce hospital congestion, like in Selayang Hospital,” Anwar said when tabling Budget 2023.
Multiple MPs have raised the problem of overcrowded emergency departments in MOH hospitals.
Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia (APHM) president Dr Kuljit Singh, in an immediate response to the Budget 2023 announcement, said private hospitals successfully managed many outsourced patients during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“However, this will be based on the private health care current capacity, which seems to be overstretched too,” Dr Kuljit said in a statement.
