Archive for category Health
Bumburing Calls On Health Ministry To Expedite Upgrading Work On Tuaran Hospital
TUARAN, March 5 (Bernama) — Former Sabah deputy chief minister Datuk Wilfred Bumburing has called on the Health Ministry to expedite the upgrading of the Tuaran hospital to cater for the health care needs of about 120,000 people living in the area.
He said the hospital was in dire need of upgrading and it was sad that a hospital for a large district like Tuaran, with a population of 120,000, had no bed at all.
“I was also told that the hospital had been downgraded to a clinic in the past. In my speech in Parliment last year to debate the 2010 budget I have outlined all the reasons and rationale as to why the construction of the hospital is most urgently needed,” he told reporters here on Friday.
However the member of Parliment for Tuaran denied DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang’s recent allegation that the BN government had not done anything to develop Tuaran.
Bumburing said the Health Ministry had assured him that the second phase construction of the hospital would start this year.
“While appreciating Kit Siang’s concern, I have to mention that we in the Barisan Nasional have carried our duty and responsibility in bringing up to the relevant authorities matters that are of urgent public interest,” he said.
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Cockcroach and Blood Stained Blankets in Hospital
Letter by Ganesh
My wife recently delivered our baby in Pantai Hospital Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur. Being a premium hospital situated ideally to cater to the Damansara Heights and Bangsar affluent residents, one would expect minimum standards of service and hygiene to be practiced.
I was appalled to find that the hospital had blood stained blankets and was infested with cockroaches.
Our nightmare began on the first day we checked in at about 1 pm. That evening, the hospital forgot to serve the tea time snack and also the dinner meal. When asked why, they could not give a proper explanation and had just said, “sudah lupa”.
My room was a brand new room that was just set up for a new patient. Initially, there were no blankets. My wife who was admitted, was freezing in the room for several hours. I had to ask several times for blankets to be given. However, when the blankets did come, the blankets were heavily stained with dried blood and urine. Refer to the enclosed picture. The staff nurse confirmed it was dried blood. I was shocked beyond believe. I immediately asked the nurses for an explanation but they were unable to give me a reasonable explanation. I demanded for the blankets to be changed.
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Africanisation of Malaysian Healthcare
Letter by Elmina Joseph
I refer to Chris Anthony’s letter “Ensure quality at 1Malaysia clinics” in Malaysiakini and couldn’t agree more.
It appears both the Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) Chairman, S. M. Idris and the current DG of Health are clearly consumed by politics rather then ethics. Idris in particular chooses conveniently to sing where the wind blows without an iota of decency nor morality. Whatever happened to his lofty ideals of doctors being properly qualified and trained before they are even allowed to touch patients? Not forgetting the fact that he was one of the prime movers that doctors in this country be leashed by the offensive Private Health Care Facilities Act that govern all clinics.
Perhaps his memory has failed him. Or perhaps he now sees himself championing the cause of the poor even though they only get to see Medical Assistants instead of doctors. Miraculously according to him Medical Assistants who used to help in private and estate clinics are “experienced and qualified” to see patients independently. A far cry from his usual “unqualified, unregistered practitioners”. He backs up his claims now quoting various examples such as nurse practitioners he conveniently has picked from other countries where it appears to be the practice.
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What a 52nd National Day!
Posted by Kit in Health, MCA, Najib Razak, nation building on Thursday, 27 August 2009
From http://twitter.com/limkitsiang
What a National Day on Monday! Najib’s 1Malaysia gets drubbing in Permatang Pasir. MCA sacks ChuaSoiLek. SamyVellu in MIC. H1N1 – 71 deaths
27th August 2009 07:37 AM
How and why has Malaysia swiftly joined the world’s top eight countries with the highest death toll from A (H1N1) flu pandemic in less than a month?
It is a great relief that there has been no single case of fatality from A (H1N1) flu pandemic in the past 24 hours after a meteoric rise in the past week, totaling cumulative death toll of 67 as of yesterday in a matter four weeks since the first case of fatality.
The question remains however how Malaysia has swiftly joined the world’s top eight countries with the highest death toll from A (H1N1) flu pandemic in less than a month, chalking up a cumulative death toll of 67 after United States (482 fatalities), Argentina (404), Brazil (379), Mexico (163), Australia (118), Chile (112), Thailand (97) and tying with Canada (67) for eighth place?
In a matter of four days, the cumulative death toll in Malaysia had increased by eight fatalities, moving it up from world’s ninth placing with 59 deaths to eighth placing with 67 fatalities, while in other countries the mortality rates have stopped or slowed considerably, like Chile which had registered 105 deaths last weekend, with Thailand remaining static at 97 while Canada had increased by one fatality during this period.
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Najib should convene an all-party conference involving all MPs and State Assembly members to launch a national emergency campaign in view of worsening A (H1N1) pandemic
Posted by Kit in Health, Najib Razak on Tuesday, 18 August 2009
Death toll from the A (H1N1) continues to mount unchecked and relentlessly, adding three more fatalities to a grand total of 67, the latest victims being a 71-year-old man, a 10-year-old girl and a 33-year old woman.
There has been considerable confusion emanating from the Health Ministry, for instance, whether a national health emergency due to the killer pandemic has been declared, as reported by some media, and what it implies.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said a health curfew would only be considered if the mortality rate goes above 0.4 per cent. He said the country’s mortality rate for A(H1N1) flu is currently between 0.1 per cent and 0.4 per cent.
It is clear that the Health Minister has no real notion of what is the current mortality rate for A(H1N1) as the statement that the current mortality rate between 0.1 per cent and 0.4 per cent is quite meaningless. Read the rest of this entry »
Pneumococcal vaccination limits H1N1 death
Dear all,
Not all who gets H1N1 gets pneumonia BUT all who died of H1N1 gets pneumonia.
So, we should focus on how we can prevent pneumonia if we get H1N1…..
not how to prevent H1N1.
For those high risk group, getting pneumococcal vaccination is one of the defense mechanism we could use against dying from H1N1. You might still get H1N1 but at least you have a 30% lower risk of dying from H1N1.
Studies have shown here that 30% of H1N1 pneumonia related deaths are due to Streptococcus pneumoniae. Getting yourself vaccinated means you have eliminated 30% of the possible risk of dying from H1N1 pneumonia.
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A(H1N1) flu death toll climbs to 62 with daily increase of 283 cases to total 3,857 cases – Japan and South Korea confirm their first A(H1N1) death
The A (H1N1) flu death toll in Malaysia has climbed to 62 with another three fatalities with the daily increase of 283 cases to total 3,857 cases in the country.
On the international front, South Korea and Japan have confirmed their first A (H1N1) death.
The first South-Korea death is a 56-year-old man who returned from a visit to Thailand while the first Japanese death, a man in his fifties, had apparently not been overseas.
The H1N1 flu outbreak, declared a pandemic in June, has spread around the world and could eventually affect 2 billion people, according to World Health Organisation estimates.
The virus has killed more than 800 people worldwide since emerging in April.
For the first time, the Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai has admitted that A (H1N1) virus could affect five million Malaysians, based on the WHO estimate that that if 20% of Malaysia’s 27.7 million or 5.5 million are at risk and exposed to the virus.
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Why is A (H1N1) death rate in Malaysia four times the global case fatality rate?
Health Minister, Datuk Liow Tiong Lai should explain why Malaysia’s A (H1N1) death rate is four times the global case fatality rate.
Malaysia’s death toll from A (H1N1) flu has topped 56 since the first fatality three weeks ago.
Below I have calculated the mortality rates for the following countries, based on reported number of confirmed H1N1 cases, as of 13 August 2009. Some countries like Singapore have ceased to report on total cases, where their current reports are on the number of patients still receiving treatment in hospitals. Some countries have yet to report their most updated total number of cases, hence I have given their numbers as of the date in brackets below. The number of deaths are as of 13 August.
The following are a comparison of Malaysia’s A (H1N1) flu fatality rate with other countries based on confirmed cases and deaths made public yesterday:
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Liow Tiong Lai, Where are You? Karen Lee looking for you
At 5.10 pm, on my blog this morning re: “Large-scale H1N1 awareness campaign welcome but why so belated – after 33 deaths and some 2,000 cases?” , I received this heart-rending post from a mother, Karen Lee from Kota Kemuning, worried about her five-year-old son in the A (H1N1) flu killer pandemic, which has claimed 38 lives since the first death was reported 26 days ago on July 16 and recorded 2,253 cases since the first H1N1 case less than three months ago on May 15, 2009..
Karen wants to ask the Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai four questions about the A (H1N1) flu pandemic and quite desperate for getting an immediate reply as her son’s life is “at stake”.
These four questions are: Read the rest of this entry »
Large-scale H1N1 awareness campaign welcome but why so belated – after 33 deaths and some 2,000 cases?
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday announced that the government will launch a large-scale public awareness campaign on influenza A(H1N1) beginning this week to educate the public on the pandemic in view of the worsening scenario in the country.
This is a welcome though belated initiative and the questions uppermost in everyone’s mind is why this decision was taken so late, after 33 deaths and some 2,000 cases.
Furthermore, why must it take the Prime Minister to intervene personally before such a decision is taken? What then is the use of having a Health Minister?
Would more lives had been saved if the large-scale public awareness campaign had been launched when the first death from the A (H1N1) flu had occurred 25 days ago on July 16?
It is not only the Health Minister who had failed to provide the proper leadership in the campaign against A (H1N1) flu, even the Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin who headed the inter-ministerial committee on A (H1N1) was guilty of a most flippant and irresponsible attitude with his shocking remark: “Even if I am health minister, I cannot guarantee your safety.”
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Greatest disappointment of all 18 Najib Cabinet meetings – utter failure to address six urgent national issues from crime, corruption, education, health to nation building
Posted by Kit in Education, Health, Human Rights, Najib Razak, nation building, Police, Teoh Beng Hock on Friday, 7 August 2009
The Cabinet meeting this Wednesday (5th August) is the greatest disappointment of all the 18 Cabinet meetings in the 124 days of Najib premiership because of its utter failure to address at least six urgent national issues ranging from crime, corruption, education, health to nation building.
The Cabinet has irresponsibly skirted grave and urgent national issues including:
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Cabinet’s failure to heed nation-wide outrage at its refusal to establish a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the causes and circumstances of Teoh Beng Hock’s mysterious death at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on July 16 instead of breaking up the process into two parts – an inquest into the causes of Teoh’s death and a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into MACC interrogation techniques.
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak had said in Pekan on Tuesday that the Commission of Inquiry into the MACC’s interrogation methods would only begin its work after the inquest into Teoh’s death.
It is Najib’s ensuing statement that the RCI “will take into consideration the findings of the inquest” which has given Teoh’s family the false hope that if they are not satisfied with the inquest findings, Najib is prepared to consider their request for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the causes and circumstances of Teoh’s death.
Ministry of Health website latest fatal casualty of the A (H1N1) killer pandemic?
The A (H1N1) flu pandemic toll in Malaysia jumped by four in the past 24 hours from nine to 13.
The latest fatality is six-year-old Mohd Hyafiq Aiman Mohd Saiful Afendi, first death from Pahang, who died at 12.40 pm yesterday after he was admitted to the Tengku Ampuan Afzan (HTAA) Hospital, Kuantan after he developed fever and complained of stomach ache.
The other three latest confirmed A (H1N1) deaths were a three-year-old girl, 12-year-old boy and a 20-year man – all from Malacca.
Since the first case of A (H1N1) flu death two weeks ago on July 23 – a 30-year-old Indonesian – the rate of fatality has increased in pace and numbers, as illustrated by the following table of fatalities:
July 23 – 1 (KL)
July 27 – 1 (Subang Jaya)
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What a shame, would Muhyiddin be another “Nero playing the fiddle while Rome burned” if he had been Health Minister and faced with two killer epidemics, A (H1N1) and dengue?
Posted by Kit in Health, Muhyiddin Yassin on Tuesday, 4 August 2009
What a shame! The MCA Health Minister, Datuk Liow Tiong Lai has to seek refuge in an UMNO leader to come to his defence in the face of criticism of his playing truant from his ministerial duties when Malaysians are faced with two killer epidemics – A(N1H1) and dengue – to the extent that there are people who liken him to “Nero playing the fiddle while Rome burned”!
And what a poor, outrageous and unprofessional defence.
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yasin defended Liow’s Ministerial performance with the declaration: “Even if I am health minister, I cannot guarantee your safety.”
Is this an admission and even confession by Muhyiddin that he would be another “Nero playing the fiddle while Rome burned” if he had been Health Minister and similarly faced with two killer epidemics, A (H1N1) and dengue?
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Does Tiong Lai agree with WHO estimates that some 110,000 to 500,000 people in Malaysia need hospitalization in A(H1N1) outbreak with 5,500 to 28,000 deaths?
The A(N1H1) death list has shot up by another two victims from four to six – an 11-year-old boy who died at 8.30 am at Hospital Sultanah Aminah Johor Baru yesterday and a 10-year-old girl from Bagan Seri who died at the Bagan Seri Health Clinic at 3 am on Friday.
In New Sunday Times yesterday, the Health director-general Tan Sri Dr. Ismail Merican warned that the influenza A(H1N1) outbreak is getting serious and about to break out of its present “cluster” level into a community disaster.
There have been 39 reported new cases of H1N1, all involving Malaysians – bringing the total number of H1N1 cases so far to 1,429.
It is shocking and outrageous that at a time when the country is facing the onslaught of two killer epidemics, A(H1N1) and dengue, they are not the No. 1 priority concern of the Health Minister, Datuk Liow Tiong Lai who abdicated his responsibility as Health Minister Read the rest of this entry »
Why was health, in particular the war against two killer epidemics – A(H1N1) and dengue – excluded from Najib’s National Key Result Areas (NKRAs) announced last week?
Health Minister, Datuk Liow Tiong Lai cannot be serious about his ministerial commitment to provide the best health services in the country when the health front, in particular the war against the two killer epidemics of A(H1N1) and dengue are excluded from the National Key Result Areas (NKRAs) announced by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak last week.
In fact, it is not only Liow but also the Minister for KPIs, Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon who should also explain why the Prime Minister’s short-term targets for six NKRAs had excluded health, especially with the country facing two killer epidemics.
There have been 69 new locally-transmitted influenza A(H1N1) cases reported on Thursday, bringing the total number in the country to 1,371 with four deaths so far.
At a recent briefing to the National Influenza Pandemic Task Force meeting (July 27, 2009), Dr Tee Ah Sian, director of communicable diseases of WHO, painted a possible scenario for the Malaysian A (H1N1) pandemic.
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A(H1N1) and Dengue killer epidemics – Tiong Lai should take leave from MCA party duties to lead a 24/7 national campaign, resign as Health Minister or take leave as Health Minister so that a “full time” Health Minister can provide leadership
It is shocking that instead of leading the national war against the double epidemics of A(H1N1) and dengue, the Health Minister, Datuk Liow Tiong Lai is leading the national blame game with the MCA-owned Star putting him on the front-page headline news blaming “the lack of vigilance by members of the public and even some doctors”.
Let me tell Tiong Lai. Don’t blame others. If you want to blame somebody, blame yourself for failing to provide the needed leadership to mobilize Malaysians to fight the double epidemics as Health Minister.
Liow does not seem to be a Health Minister who is confronted with the two killer epidemics, with A(H1N1) claiming four deaths and recording a total number of 1,302 cases while dengue has killed 64 and recorded 26,446 cases since January, set to break even last year’s worst dengue epidemic of 49,335 cases and 112 casualties.
The worse is yet to come for both deadly epidemics.
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Tiong Lai – do not be like ‘Nero playing fiddle while Rome burns” only interested in playing MCA politics despite mounting deaths from dengue and H1N1 epidemics
Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai should not be like “Nero playing fiddle while Rome burns” only interested in playing MCA politics despite mounting deaths from dengue and H1N1 epidemics.
The influenza A (H1N1) has claimed a fourth casualty in Malaysia – 20-year-old woman who died of “severe community acquired pneumonia” at 9.40 am on Tuesday at the Malacca Hospital, after suffering from the flu for 11 days.
On the dengue front, two more deaths have occurred this year, a 77-year-old man from Sipitang, Sabah and a 45-year-old female teacher from Ampang, Selangor who died last week.
Since January this year, there have been 26,446 cases and 64 fatalities Liow seems to have forgotten what he started six months ago, when he declared an all-out war against dengue, which recorded the highest number of 49,335 dengue cases and 112 lives last year – 50 per cent of whom were preventable deaths.
Now, Malaysia is heading towards an even higher incidence of dengue cases and fatalities than last year. Read the rest of this entry »
Dengue – shouldn’t Health DG be sacked?
Letters
by ABJ
Here we go again. DG Merican laments yet again that the source of Malaysia’s entire healthcare problems lie with private clinics and hospitals as reported by Annie Freeda Cruez, the New Straits Times’ healthcare correspondent “extraordinaire”.
Incredible as it may seem, DG Merican with all the healthcare resources of the Malaysian government at his beck and call, has chosen to blame, yet again, private clinics and hospitals as the main cause for the rising death toll of dengue in Malaysia. Why are we not surprised? What next? Blame the H1N1 on airlines or the virus itself?
Merican appears to have forgotten, that the government’s own understaffed, overcrowded health and rural clinics conveniently close their doors at 4.30pm on the dot driving the hapless population to private clinics, if there is still one that has not closed, in that locality. Read the rest of this entry »
Big Napoleons in MOH
Letters
by mnoria
Big Napoleons in MOH acting like mafia warlords to sabotage the Health Ministry’s official announcements
I hope the Malaysian public have not forgotten the plight of House Officers or young trainee doctors:
1. Forced to work non-stop 36 hours, on-call duty for 24 hours and need to continue with another 12-hour regular, routine duties.
2. Extension of the period of their houseman-ship into two-years from the previous one year only.
The voices of grouses and protests died down totally after:
1. Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai announced that trainee doctors would now get a day off after carrying out their 24-hour on-call duty.
2. Health Ministry director-general Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican announced an automatic promotion to grade UD44 upon completion of their two-year houseman-ship.
Please refer to the following two news reports from the Star newspapers for the details: Read the rest of this entry »
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