KUALA LUMPUR: Association Private Hospitals Malaysia has confirmed a report that many hospitals are reaching its capacity, causing delays in admissions.
It warned that the situation would worsen in the coming months if the government did not address the shortage of nurses.
Its president Datuk Dr Kuljit Singh said the increase in bed capacity in many hospitals were due to many factors most notably the influenza virus.
"Both paediatrics and adults have a growing need for beds, and to fill (add more) beds, many hospitals will have patients wait in their emergency rooms.
"Because of the identical congestion, it is not possible to refer patients to other private or governmental hospitals," he said in a statement.
While many private hospitals have the ability to increase the number of beds, lack of nurses, however, prevented them from opening more wards.
This, Kuljit said, has resulted in patients having to wait longer to be admitted.
"Since we foresaw this, we informed the government of our proposal and warned that things might get worse in the coming months.
"In order to meet the urgent need for healthcare delivery, the majority of countries with nursing shortages have turned to hiring foreign nurses," he said, adding that the proposal has been presented to the Health Ministry that had yet to come out with a practical solution to the problem.
The New Straits Times recently reported on parents concerned about the difficulties in getting bed admissions at private hospitals which are mostly full to a brim.
Some claimed that they had to call up to four hospitals but none were available to accommodate new patients.
Meanwhile on a separate matter, Kuljit also commended the government for its initiative to support both public and private healthcare by considering raising the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for healthcare to 5 per cent in the recently unveiled Mandani Economy Plan.
"Even if private hospitals are now overflowing with people who can afford care, the additional healthcare budget will make it easier for public hospitals to contract with private hospitals for some services.
"As a result, there will be less traffic and waiting in public hospitals," he said.