‘RM3 mln for S’wak to outsource nonCovid procedures to private hospitals’

KUCHING: The federal government has approved RM3 million for Sarawak to outsource non-Covid-19 procedures to private hospitals in the state during the ongoing pandemic, said Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

He said non-Covid-19 procedures had been put on hold due to the pandemic situation, which had seen the state’s health facilities struggling to meet the demand.

“Now, we want to send these procedures to private hospitals, and we have approved RM3 million for Sarawak to do that,” he told a press conference after a meeting with the State Disaster Management Committee at Wisma Bapa Malaysia here yesterday. To a question, Khairy said some private hospitals in the country, including their intensive care units (ICUs), had started accepting Covid-19 cases.

“In Sarawak, KPJ has been attending to Covid-19 cases. There is no question of private hospitals not helping out. They are helping out,” he said.

Khairy stressed that the government had engaged private hospitals to deal with non-Covid-19 procedures to help reduce the burden of government hospitals.

“The key right now is outsourcing non-Covid-19 procedures that have been put off,” he added.