Health Ministry Spends RM137 Mln Yearly To Maintain 201 Health Clinics

KUALA LUMPUR, July 31 (Bernama) -- The Ministry of Health (MOH) spends a total of RM137 million a year to maintain 201 health clinics nationwide under the Clinic Support Services (PSK), with a five-year contract from 2022, the Dewan Negara was told today.

In a written reply to Senator Dr Lingeshwaran R. Arunasalam, the MOH today said the PSK is a non-comprehensive maintenance programme involving facility engineering maintenance services and cleaning services.

The ministry said for the last five years, a total of 65 health clinics have been completed with a project cost of RM1,156,572,795 and have begun operations to provide services to the people.

"Currently, the MOH is examining proposals to collaborate with private health clinics for some services, especially preventive, promotive and curative services," according to the statement.

Senator Dr Lingeshwaran had wanted to know the estimated cost to build and maintain a health clinic in a year; the amount of allocations spent in the last five years; and the proposal to outsource health clinic services as a more cost-effective measure.

On a different matter, the MOH in response to a question from Senator Datin Ros Suryati Alang, who wanted to know the preparations to face any pandemic threat and latest developments in the production of locally made vaccines, said it (ministry) was implementing various preparedness measures.

“Among measures is building a National Centre for Disease Control on par with the Centres for Diseases Control and Prevention, in the United States, as well as in other countries,” according to the statement.

"This project was approved by the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) under the Fourth Rolling Plan (2019-2020) of the 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP), with a total cost of RM500 million to be built on a 20-acre site located in Bandar Enstek, Negeri Sembilan."

Additionally, the MOH is also implementing continuous improvements in standard operating procedures (SOP) as well as guidelines related to preparedness and response to pandemics at all levels.

The ministry added that the two types of COVID-19 vaccines, namely inactivated virus and mRNA technology, which the ministry is developing through research at the Institute of Medical Research (IMR), are expected to take five to seven years before they can be used.

"This is because the vaccines produced must be proven to be effective and safe, that is, after passing phase one (and then) to three clinical studies," it said.

The development of this locally made vaccine is jointly led by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) and MOH, and involves collaboration between various government and private agencies.

-- BERNAMA