More Indonesians Seeking Treatment at Sarawak's Private Hospitals - CM

KUCHING (Sarawak), Sept 20 (Bernama) – More Indonesians are seeking medical treatment at private hospitals in the state of Sarawak and the number is expected to increase, says Sarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg. Thus, he urged medical care providers in the state to always upgrade the standard of their services and friendly engagement with their patients. “This would not only attract patients from within the state but also from abroad. Patients would come to a hospital if they are satisfied with the good services provided to them,” he said at the NMSC Quality Award Presentation 2017, here, Tuesday. In his speech, the chief minister also commended Normah Medical Specialist Centre (NMSC) for having been Internationally certified as a Joint Commission International (JCI) Accredited Hospital with the Gold Seal Certificate. He said NMSC had progressed well since its inception, but added that there was still room for improvement and suggested that the medical centre be expanded in future. Abang Johari said the state government through Yayasan Sarawak was also sponsoring (giving scholarships) 40 medical students each year, in its effort to increase the number of doctors in the state and the target is to reach the ratio of one doctor to 400 people. He said medical services could also contribute to the state’s tourism industry through the medical tourism sector. He also noted that there was 17 per cent increase in the number of visitors to Sarawak this year although there are not many direct flights to the state. Abang Johari then presented the award to 20 staff of NMSC, and he was presented with the JCI Gold Seal Certificate by Sarawak Medical Centre Sdn Bhd chairman, Mohammed Nor. Meanwhile, NMSC chief executive officer, Au Yong Kien Hoe said its goal was to provide confidence to the community, “that is, if you come to Normah you will receive the same standard of care and safety provided by a hospital in a developed country.” As such, he said, NMSC had implemented a number of strategies to help the hospital achieve its goal, and one of the strategies was to obtain international accreditation. -- BERNAMA