SPEECH BY YB DATO’ SRI LIOW TIONG LAI
MINISTER OF HEALTH MALAYSIA
OPENING OF ALPHA SPECIALIST CENTRE
DATARAN SUNWAY, PETALING JAYA, 29 SEPTEMBER 2009
Dr. Robert Patrick Jalleh,
Chairman and Consultant General & Hepatobiliary Surgeon,
Alpha Specialist Centre.
Dr. Wong Wing Keen,
Medical Director and Consultant Chest Physician.
The Board of Directors, Alpha Specialist Centre.
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.
A very good morning to all of you.
1. First and foremost, allow me to thank Dr Robert Patrick Jalleh and the Board of Directors for inviting me to officiate at the opening of your ambulatory care facility today. This marks an auspicious beginning for Alpha Specialist Centre to provide excellent health care to the people of Malaysia in general and to the residents of Kota Damansara in particular.
2. I am told that you have opened for business on 28 August 2008 after receiving approval from all the relevant authorities, and that you are now fully operational with 20 specialists and a full-time Medical Officer.
3. I wholeheartedly agree with you that ambulatory care service is a viable and efficient healthcare delivery model to address the continuously rising healthcare costs, particularly in the private sector. An Ambulatory Care Centre (or ACC) is also an ideal model for health tourism, and can provide high quality specialist care at affordable prices.
4. Part XXV of the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Regulations 2006 indicates that all procedures and surgeries performed in an ambulatory care centre shall be limited to those that do not exceed 23 hours of combined operating and recovery time. This does away with overnight hospital stay. For the patient, this means greater convenience and lesser time away from family and work. Needless to say, patients generally prefer to recover in the comfort of their homes in the presence of their loved ones, rather than lie on a bed in the hospital. For the healthcare facility, this means lesser expenditure on staffing and shift duty, and less risk of the patient getting hospital-acquired infections. All these translate into lower costs, which hopefully can be passed onto the patients and the community.
5. Indeed, I am told that surveys in the United States and elsewhere have indicated that the bulk of medical conditions can be managed outside the hospital. The figure is generally around 70% – fully two thirds. And using the ambulatory care concept, I am told that you can envisage a two-thirds cost saving in manpower and electricity bills alone. So, I hope Alpha will pass on these savings to your patients (and not keep them solely for your shareholders!).
6. In this regard, I am quite pleased to learn that Alpha Specialist Centre has, in fact, been fully conscious of its corporate social responsibility. In addition to trying to keep its fees down at an affordable level, it has also successfully organized many community–based activities such as health checks, blood donation drives, and public talks and forums. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Alpha for rendering these kind services, and hope that this good gesture will continue in the future.
Ladies and gentlemen,
7. Alpha Specialist Centre is not the only ambulatory care centre that we have approved so far in the private sector. To date, we have received at least 30 applications for setting up ACCs throughout the country, and so far 13 have been licensed and are operational. The specialties offered include Eye (Ophthalmology), Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Endoscopy, Plastic Surgery, Minor surgery, Radiotherapy & Oncology, Radiology, Wellness, Sports Medicine, Dental and even Day-Care Hospice.
8. All these ACCs are regulated under Part XXV of the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Regulations 2006. For example, the Regulations stipulate that all ACCs must maintain a patient care area for those who need longer periods of observation beyond the recovery period and prior to discharge, but not to exceed 23 hours. The ACC must also have arrangements to provide adequate care for its patients in the event of an emergency, including obtaining ambulance services to a hospital and having a written transfer agreement with any hospital for admitting privileges.
9. Thus, ladies and gentlemen, you can see that the Ministry of Health has taken steps to ensure that the safety and interests of all patients at ACCs are protected. We will continue to work hand-in-hand with the private sector to ensure the quality of the medical services in this country, in tandem with Malaysia’s rapid socio-economic development.
10. On that note, ladies and gentlemen, I have pleasure in officially declaring open the Alpha Specialist Centre today. Thank you.
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