KUALA LUMPUR – The government must remove the red tape preventing private clinics from rolling out the Covid-19 vaccine, said a medical association.
The Federation of Private Medical Practitioners’ Association said the around 7,000 general practitioners (GPs) and thousands of health clinics in the country can easily inoculate up to 50 patients a day.
Its president Dr Steven Chow in a statement said GPs, as well as private clinics and hospitals, can help achieve critical mass in a “very short time frame”.
“All the government needs to do is deliver the vaccine efficiently to all of them.
“This can be done via existing pharmaceutical distributors, who have the capability and capacity to do so.”
Dr Chow said there is no need for the Private Medical Practice Control Section under the Health Ministry to inspect and approve GP clinics for vaccination.
“They are already registered under the Private Healthcare Facilities Act and Regulations, and GPs have been giving vaccines long before some of our ministers were even born.
“Perhaps the ministers themselves may have received vaccines from these GPs when they were babies.”
The unnecessary red tape serves as disincentives for GPs to provide Covid-19 vaccinations and should be removed to expedite roll-outs, he added.
“We don’t need a ‘canggih’ (sophisticated) system that doesn’t work. Technology is supposed to help, not hinder.”
Dr Chow said the association has received complaints from senior citizens, who have been allocated vaccination centres far from their homes.
They spent long hours travelling to the centres, locating them and navigating through the complexes, before travelling back, he added.
“This is not fair, not correct and not cost-efficient. It is sign of a broken system.
“Patients should be allowed to see a doctor nearest (to) their home, get assessed, vaccinated and then have the information immediately updated into their MySejahtera.
“It can be as simple as that.” – The Vibes, May 30, 2021
