MALAYSIAN GOVT PLANS TO LAUNCH MOBILE CLINICS, SAYS PM

KUALA LUMPUR, July 15 (Bernama) -- Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak
said Wednesday night the government planned to launch 1Malaysia mobile clinics
as part of its continuous effort to provide quality and affordable healthcare
services to the people.

The prime minister said the mobile clinics, which will be equipped with
facilities to allow medical treatment and minor operations to be carried out
onboard, were targetted at serving people in remote areas.

"The whole idea is that some of the areas which are not served by normal
clinics, can be served by these mobile clinics. I hope this concept (of
1Malaysia Mobile Clinics) can be launched in the near future.

"And I believe that with the launch of the mobile clinics, more people
living in the rural areas, traditional kampungs, estates and new villages can
have access to better and quality healthcare," he said at the Malaysian Medical
Association's (MMA) 50th anniversary dinner here.

He added that besides this, the government also planned to open more
1Malaysia clinics under the 10th Malaysia Plan, following the increasing
popularity of theese clinics among the people.


He said as of July 4, a total of 644,315 patients had received treatment
from the 50 1Malaysia clinics throughout the country.

"The needs and demands of those in the lower income levels cannot be
overlooked.

"In keeping with the "People First, Performance Now" approach, the
government is exploring various options to provide access to quality and
affordable primary healthcare to all Malaysians," he said.

On another note, the prime minister said although the government had
outlined the medical sector as one of the National Key Economic Area (NKEAs),
through boosting health tourism, the healthcare and medical needs of Malaysians
would not be neglected.

"We have set the target of achieving a ratio of one doctor to 600 people by
2015 from the current ratio of one doctor to 900 people," he said, adding that
the Health Ministry had also set its own target to achieve the ratio of one
doctor to 400 people by 2020.

Najib also said he hoped that with better perks and openings in the public
health sector, more doctors and specialists would opt to stay with the
government to serve the people.

-- BERNAMA