1MALAYSIA CLINICS TO BE REBRANDED
They will be known as Community Clinics, says health minister
1MALAYSIA Clinics will be rebranded as Community Clinics, with its operations and premises upgraded by the end of the year, said Health Minister Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.
He said the upgrade, which would be carried out in phases, would see medical and pharmaceutical officers placed on the premises.
He said an audit would be carried out to determine the suitability of the locations.
“All 346 1Malaysia Clinics will be audited.
“We will close down clinics that receive fewer than 50 patients daily.
“The ministry will review 1Malaysia Clinics’ operations according to their locations and effectiveness of their services.
“We will include additional funding for the rebranding in the new budget, to be tabled in July,” he said after attending a post-cabinet meeting yesterday.
Dr Dzulkefly said staff at affected clinics would be relocated to nearby Community Clinics.
He said the 1Malaysia Clinic, which was established in 2010, received an average of 1.3 million patients annually. It saw an increase to 6.59 million patients last year.
In the early stage, the clinics offered basic services for fever, flu, cough and simple procedures like dressing wounds and lab tests.
The clinics now offer treatments for chronic diseases and maternity care in selected areas.
Dr Dzulkefly said he had proposed a candidate to replace Gopeng member of parliament Dr Lee Boon Chye, who had turned down the appointment as his deputy.
He, however, said it was up to Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to select the best candidate for the post of deputy heath minister.