KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 9 — Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii has demanded full accountability over the fatal crash of a Flying Doctor Service (FDS) helicopter in Baram, Sarawak, yesterday.
He called for adequate compensation for families of the five victims, beyond a reported RM10,000 compensation in previous deaths of civil servants from workplace incidents.
“Compensation for these families must be substantial and commensurate with the sacrifice made, and an indemnity form signed by a health worker as a condition of service should never be relied upon to limit that sum,” Dr Yii said in a statement to CodeBlue today.
“More fundamentally, an indemnity form must not be used as a shield to protect any party – whether a government agency, contractor, or other actor – found to have acted negligently.
“Should the ongoing Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) investigation determine that the helicopter was unfit to fly or inadequately maintained, this would point to a failure of duty of care on the part of those responsible for deploying it, and those involved must bear full responsibility accordingly.
“An indemnity signed by an employee in the ordinary course of their duties cannot and should not extinguish the government’s or relevant parties of accountability for any possible negligence.”
The indemnity form, he said, should be replaced with a government-backed insurance scheme.
CodeBlue reported earlier today a government doctor’s account about how he had to sign an indemnity form, which released the government of all liability from death or disability, before flying on an FDS helicopter to accompany a patient from Miri Hospital to the Sarawak Heart Centre in 2018.
He also said he didn’t receive aviation safety training nor insurance protection before getting on the flight.
It’s unclear if the five victims in yesterday’s crash – the helicopter pilot and four Ministry of Health (MOH) staff: a medical officer, two nurses, and an assistant medical officer – had signed the same indemnity form.
Dr Yii also called for proper aviation safety training and dedicated risk insurance to be provided, as standard, to every health worker who serves on the FDS.
“It should not fall to individual doctors and nurses to find out, often after the fact, that they were never briefed on evacuation procedures, brace positions, or basic emergency response before being sent up in an aircraft. Nor should they be discovering after a near-miss that they were never covered by insurance in the first place,” said the DAP lawmaker.
He further called for a proper and independent audit of the entire FDS and Medical Evacuation (Medevac) fleet in the medium term and to retire aircraft that do not meet modern safety standards on a published timeline.
“The RM30 allowance itself should be reviewed honestly, on the basis of the risk involved, rather than adjusted upward by a token amount to manage public anger,” said Dr Yii.
Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad told a press conference earlier today that the MOH proposed last November increasing the RM30 Air Health Service Incentive Payment allowance, but did not state the suggested quantum of increase.
“Over the longer term, we want to see a properly funded plan for renewing the FDS fleet, so that the safety of our aeromedical aircraft is never again left to chance or public outcry. There must also be an occupational health and safety framework specifically for our aeromedical personnel, with independent oversight and a clear, pre-established compensation structure for death or disability in service, rather than payouts decided case by case behind closed doors,” said Dr Yii.
“On top of that safety training, insurance coverage, and equipment upgrades built permanently into the Ministry’s annual budget for this service, not treated as an afterthought.”
In a separate statement, Senator Dr RA Lingeshwaran called for the helicopter model used in the crash to be grounded.
He said the BO-105 helicopter model, with 9M-LLF registration, wasn’t a new aircraft, but a reconditioned one. This model was built in 1991 in Germany.
“For the record, the BO-105 model was fully retired in 2001, making this aircraft 35 years old with operational history exceeding three decades,” said the DAP lawmaker.
“If an investigation later finds that the crash involved aircraft factors of age, maintenance record, or reconditioned status, the government must take full responsibility and stern action against the private contractor. The government must reevaluate the use of old helicopters and ensure that the contractor replaces them with more modern and appropriate helicopters.”
Dr Yii said if the concerns he raised aren’t addressed properly, the Baram tragedy might further discourage health care professionals from volunteering or accepting postings in the interiors of Sabah and Sarawak.
“That, in turn, will come at the direct expense of the quality and reach of health care delivery to the very people these services exist to serve people who already face the greatest difficulty accessing timely medical care,” said the Sarawakian MP.
“The people of Sarawak’s interior rely on the Flying Doctor Service because they have no other way to reach urgent medical care. The doctors, nurses, and medical assistants who answer that call do so out of duty to their patients. They deserve a system that is equally committed to protecting them.”
Dzulkefly told reporters earlier today that the MOH would “double down” on the FDS to ensure universal health coverage, even though he and Health director-general Dr Mahathar Abd Wahab were unable to give the media details about technical safety aspects of the helicopters used in the MOH service.
