Friday 29 Mar 2024
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(April 30): The RM300 million budget cut this year was prompted by the drop in global oil prices and is not expected to affect patient care activities, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said today.

Adding that it was a short-term matter, he said that his ministry would scale down on lavish functions and attendance at conferences, as part of cost-cutting measures.

There had been several reports that the cut would be bigger next year.

He said that there has been no decision on any budget cut for next year.

"No. no, I don't think we have made any policy for next year, this is just for 2015.

"Anyway, this is not affecting us in managing patients, the areas where the budget is down is not related to clinical or patient care," he said today after launching 14 medical books at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur.

When asked about the RM120 million budget cut at the University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), where its doctors had complained was affecting patient care and management, Subramaniam said that UMMC did not come under his ministry.

He said, however, that if the cut was affecting their patient care, they should take it up with the Education Ministry to resolve the matter.

When pressed if he was concerned as health minister that the budget cut would eventually affect training of medical students as UMMC was a teaching hospital, Subramaniam agreed that should not be the case.

"That shouldn't happen, the intention of the budget cut was not to cause any issues.

"It's just to cut where possible without affecting the core agenda of teaching or patient management or treatment.”

He added that the budget cut at UMMC was a specific issue and urged the hospital to look at how to manage their budget so that it does not affect their core activities by having discussions with the Education Ministry.

Subramaniam said that the Health Ministry's budget this year was RM27 billion.

Earlier this month, The Malaysian Insider reported that a RM120 million budget cut for UMMC was causing concern among several doctors over the hospital's ability to give adequate treatment to patients.

They were worried that patient care would be compromised after the teaching hospital's budget for 2015 was reduced to RM387 million against an expenditure of RM510 million last year.

And as a teaching hospital, the cut would also affect the quality of education provided to medical students, they said.

Doctors there also said that the cut was expected to put a further strain on UMMC's ability to provide patient care given that it was expecting a rise in the number of patients switching over from private hospitals following the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) at 6%.

In addition, UMMC would be paying an estimated RM4 million in GST every month to suppliers.

Already operating under tight constraints, this was expected to exacerbate the chronic funding problem the hospital was facing. – The Malaysian Insider

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