PUTRAJAYA: The 1Malaysia Clinic will be rebranded as Community Clinic with its operations and premises would be upgraded by 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 to be placed at the premises.
He said an audit study would be carried out prior to the upgrade works to determine on the suitability of the clinic locations nationwide.
“All the 346 1Malaysia Clinics would be audited. We will close down clinics that receive less than 50 patients daily. The ministry will review 1Malaysia Clinic’s operations according to the locations and the effectiveness of it services.
“We will include additional funding for the rebranding exercise in the new budget to be tabled in July,” he told a Press conference after attending a post-cabinet meeting today.
Dr Dzulkefly said the issue of retrenchment did not arise if some of the clinics were to be closed down as the affected staff would be relocated to nearby Community Clinics.
He said 1Malaysia Clinic, which was established in 2010, received an average of 1.3 million patients annually, which saw an increase to 6.59 million patients last year.
In the early stage, the clinic offered basic services for fever, flu, cough and simple procedures like wound dressings and lab tests.
The clinic now also offered treatments for chronic diseases and maternity care at selected areas.
On a separate matter, Dr Dzulkefly said he had proposed a candidate to replace Gopeng member of parliament Dr Lee Boon Chye who had turned the appointment as his deputy.
He however said it was up to the Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to select the best candidate to fill the post of deputy heath minister.