What to watch in this issue of “Digital View” of Congress?
1. Nearly 25,000 patients were referred to private hospitals in just over four months
2. The number of extremely poor families in the country has further decreased by 70%
3. More than 6,000 people were detained under the Crime Prevention Act, more than half of whom were young people
Hospital Service Outsourcing Program Nearly 25,000 patients were referredPrivate Hospitals
In order to ease the service pressure on government hospitals and shorten patients' waiting time, the Ministry of Health launched the Hospital Services Outsourcing Programme (HSOP) in July this year to refer some patients to private hospitals for treatment.
Health Minister Dzulkefly revealed during the oral question and answer session in the Senate that as of November 30 this year, 24,734 patients from 40 government hospitals were transferred to 91 private hospitals for treatment through this program, involving a grant of RM144 million.
The minister pointed out that preliminary data showed that the program can effectively reduce patients' waiting time. For example, the waiting time for arteriovenous fistula (AVF) surgery was reduced from 16 weeks to 4 weeks; the waiting time for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound examinations was reduced from 20 weeks to 16 weeks; and the waiting time for computed tomography (CT) scans was also reduced from 14 weeks to 12 weeks.
The hospital service outsourcing program adopts a "bundled payment" mechanism, covering the costs of procedures, consultations, drugs, follow-up treatment and patient accommodation. As for the fees that patients need to pay, they are comparable to the charges of government hospitals.
The authorities hope to provide faster and more effective medical services by strengthening public-private partnerships so that more people can receive the treatment they need in a timely manner.
The number of extremely poor families in the country has further decreased by 70%
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Federal Territories) Zarif Haji Mohamad said in a written reply that based on data from the eKasih programme, there were 2,191 poor households nationwide as of November 30 this year, a decrease of 70% from 7,308 households in October.
By state and federal territories, Kuala Lumpur has the largest number of extremely poor households, with 474 households, but this number is 52% less than in October; as for Penang, which topped the list in October, there were only 122 extremely poor households last month, a decrease of 93% in just one month.
As for Perlis, Malacca, Negeri Sembilan and Putrajaya, there are no extremely poor families.
The government has set the national poverty line income level at RM2,589. Any household with a monthly income below this level is classified as a poor household, while the monthly income of an extremely poor household is less than RM1,198, which is the food consumption required to maintain basic survival.
Police detained 6,176 people under the Prevention of Crime Act, more than half of whom were young people
The Ministry of Home Affairs cited police data in a written reply to Parliament, saying that from January 1, 2018 to 2021, a total of 6,176 people were detained under the Prevention of Crime Act 1959, of which at least half were aged 19 to 29.
As for 2022, 130 people were arrested under the Prevention of Crime Act 1959 until the Federal Court ruled in April of the same year that Section 4 and Section 15B of the Act violated the Federal Constitution and therefore issued an order to suspend the execution of the Act.
As a result, no one was detained under the Act last year or this year, and the Ministry of Home Affairs plans to amend the Act and table the amendment bill during next year’s Parliament session.
The Prevention of Crime Act 1959 is one of the few laws in our country that allows for detention before trial. As it is a preventive law, those detained under it do not need to go through the normal court procedures of being charged and convicted.
As for Section 4 which was ruled unconstitutional, it sets out the procedure for a magistrate to issue a detention order to the police, while Section 15B restricts the judge from inquiring into the reasons for detention.
Data and information collection: Li Jiading
Written and drawn by: Chen Chenghui
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