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©The Sun
(Used by permission)
by Dr Teh Yik Koon
WHEN I THINK ABOUT WHAT OUR HEALTHCARE SYSTEM SHOULD be in 50 years time, I
cannot avoid sharing what I believe to be the duty of every God-fearing human
being. I believe God blesses everyone in different ways. When we are blessed
with a skill, we have a duty to use it to the maximum for the benefit of
humankind. In the end, I believe God will ask how much we have contributed to
our community with our skill and not how much wealth we have accumulated.
On this note, I believe doctors and healthcare providers are blessed with the
skill or capability to face the challenges of the medical profession. And in
choosing to be health practitioners, they are entrusted with a heavy duty to
look after the wellbeing of humankind.
Doctors should fully use their skills to reach out to as many patients as
possible. All hospitals should ensure that everyone can have access to
efficient, quality and affordable healthcare. Pharmaceutical companies and
producers of medical equipment should take up the challenge to ensure that their
products can benefit all sections of society. The personnel at the Health
Ministry, who are paid by tax payers’ money, have to ensure that the basic human
right of access to quality healthcare is provided to all citizens. This includes
sufficient medical professionals and facilities in all public hospitals.
At present, it has been reported that only a third or 33% of the medical and
surgical specialists in Malaysia are in public hospitals, coping with three
quarters or 75% of all hospital admissions. The other 67% of the medical and
surgical specialists are in private hospitals, serving only 25% of all hospital
admissions.
The clear imbalance in the concentration of medical expertise vis-a-vis the
number of patients shows where the priority of a large number of doctors lie.
The present trend is that many are leaving the government service for the more
lucrative private sector. The blame is mainly on the unequal promotion
opportunities and inadequate salary in the public sector.
As for the high charges for healthcare in the private sector, some doctors blame
the management of the hospitals and say that they themselves do not agree with
this practice. If one has integrity and feels strongly that the patients have
been unfairly overcharged, one would boycott the establishment. It would be
ironic if they were to make that claim and at the same time try to be attached
to a few better known, expensive private hospitals.
I have even read in one doctor’s blog that he told his students to remember that
they were not Mother Teresa. If I can produce one Mother Teresa among my
thousands of students, I must be a very good lecturer!
The management of the hospitals, in turn, will blame the pharmaceutical
companies and producers of medical equipment for the high cost. It should be
remembered that some private hospitals have declared profits that run into
millions every year – despite knowing that many people could barely afford the
cost, without sacrificing an arm and a leg, of getting immediate attention for
their serious illness, which they have difficulty getting from government
hospitals.
The pharmaceutical companies and producers of medical equipment in turn, put the
blame back on the public and private hospitals’ management, doctors and other
healthcare personnel, for wanting a direct or indirect cut from the sales and
purchase agreement.
It is so typical of human beings, and Malaysians in particular, in this
materialistic and capitalistic culture, to play the blame game rather than ask
if one is just as much to blame. Healthcare, like social work, cannot be a
profit-oriented business. People generally do not have a choice whether or not
they want to get sick.
My wish for Malaysia, where healthcare is concerned, is that all parties
involved – from doctors to the Ministry of Health – should remember that they
have a responsibility to ensure that everyone has access to healthcare.
If everyone plays his or her part, we will not have long queues in government
hospitals, treatment will be obtained faster by all, and nobody, especially the
poor and marginalised, will be deprived of the basic human right of efficient,
quality and affordable healthcare.
My wish is for this to happen very soon and not to have to wait for another 50
years!
Dr Teh Yik Koon is an associate professor in criminology and sociology at the
Department of Social Work, Universiti Utara Malaysia. She is also active in NGO
work, particularly with marginalised communities.
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