Chua under fire

Malay Mail, today

HEALTH Minister Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek came under fire from several quarters yesterday following his statement which was construed as ‘defending’ Assunta Hospital on the controversy surrounding the death of road bully victim Yek Yow Ngan.

Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations president N. Marimuthu lambasted Chua’s apparent stance, chiding the Minister for “quickly making a judgement before the Ministry had even received an offi cial complaint from Yek.” He said the Ministry, instead of being quick to defend the hospital, should instead be showing Malaysians what it had been doing to address these issues.

“People are dying of healthrelated issues everyday,” he said.

He also urged the Government to take stern action against Assunta Hospital.

Seputeh MP Teresa Kok was also scathing in her criticism of Chua’s statement.

“I understand that Chua tends to protect those in the medical profession as he used to be a doctor.

“However, this is not the first time we’ve read of private hospitals denying patients treatment on the basis of not being able to pay the deposit,” she said.

“Chua should have ordered an inquiry instead of issuing statements after getting the hospital’s side of the story. He should have reserved comments until after the matter had been thoroughly investigated.” Muslim Consumer Association project director Noor Nirwandy Mat Noordin called for the Ministry to issue a directive for private hospitals to set up a contingency fund for emergency cases.

“The fund can be obtained from a small portion of the hospital’s annual budget or profit to fulfil its social obligations. If the fund isn’t utilised, it means the hospital hasn’t been contributing to society,” suggested Noor Nirwandy.

He also suggested that private hospitals found shirking their duties should have their licences revoked and their discriminatory ways be made known to the public.

“However, I am disappointed that the Minister isn’t doing a good job of representing the public. If a patient has no money, does that mean he or she should just die?” Noor Nirwandy also called for the Ministry to look into the issue seriously.

The Malay Mail reported yesterday that Yek Yong Hon, 21, was upset that Chua had defended Assunta Hospital even before Yong Hon had lodged an offi cial complaint with the Ministry.

“Would it make a difference now if I were to lodge a complaint against the hospital?” Yong Hon had asked.

Yong Hon’s mother, Yek Yow Ngan, 51, was seriously injured after being involved in a horrifi c traffi c accident. She had rammed into another car in her bid to escape from road bullies, who had earlier smashed her vehicle.

Assunta Hospital was alleged to have demanded a deposit of RM10,000 from Yek before it could treat Yow Ngan. However, Yong Hon was unable to raise RM10,000 and had to wait a full hour before she was eventually transferred to Kuala Lumpur Hospital.

Chua’s statement came following the hospital’s statement on Tuesday that it had treated her before bringing up the issue of payment.

“As long as they had treated her before talking about payment, then the hospital had done nothing wrong,” Chua was quoted as saying.

“It is also normal for private hospitals to refer serious cases to Government hospitals. It happens everywhere in the world,” he said.