The allocation for Ministry of Health was cut by RM280 million in Budget 2016. And now, we start seeing its consequences.
Pathology department of Tengku Ampuan Rahmah Hospital in Klang has issued a circular dated September 6, notifying hospital staffs of a temporary halt in pathology laboratory investigations, as the department was unable to purchase necessary chemical reagents due to inadequate funds.
A prostate cancer patient sought a blood test at the Sultanah Nora Ismail Hospital in Batu Pahat but was told that the result might take a few days because the blood sample would have to be sent to Johor Baru as Sultanah Nora Ismail Hospital ran out of its allocation.[1]
Selayang Hospital also did not have chemical reagents to run creatinine blood test in end of September.
Some of the Klinik Kesihatan stop doing screening for Hepatitis B for pregnant women even though Hepatitis B is highly prevalent in our region.
Health Ministry has seen an increment in the numbers of patients seeking healthcare services in public health facilities, with an estimated 8% increase in patients from January to May this year, compared to the same period in the past year. This translates to over three million additional patients who are visiting the public health clinics.
Therefore I fully agree with the Director General of Health, Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, who has acknowledged the challenges faced by the Ministry of Health in providing quality healthcare services with restricted resources, especially with increase in demand.
Allocation for Ministry of Health in 2015 was RM23.31 billion, but was reduced to RM23.03 billion in Budget 2016.
But at the same time, allocation for PM’s Department was increased from RM19.2 billion to RM20.3 billion.
What projects under PM’s Department that can be more important than saving lives?
Millions of Malaysians who cannot afford private healthcare rely on our Government to provide quality services. Datuk Seri Najib Razak needs to set the right priority in the coming Budget 2017 as it is pathetic to see that in the country where its PM has billions of “donations” in his personal bank account, patients and their family are suffering.