KUALA LUMPUR: The healthcare sector which remains a key focus for the country in the upcoming 2024 Budget is proof that the federal government is concerned about the wellbeing of the people.
Public health medicine specialist Datuk Dr Zainal Ariffin Omar said as healthcare and economic growth are highly correlated, it was commendable that the healthcare sector continues to be a priority for the government.
"A good healthcare system is critical to productivity and economic growth. Thus, making the healthcare sector a key focus is the way it should be," he said when contacted.
Zainal was responding to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who earlier today said that the healthcare sector would remain a key focus for the country in the upcoming 2024 Budget.
This, the premier said, was to ensure continued efforts towards strengthening the national healthcare system.
Anwar said this in his speech at the launch of the Madani Medical Scheme and Madani Afiat Programme at Bulatan Sultan Azlan Shah in Meru, Ipoh.
Zainal said among the healthcare areas that should be focused on in next year's budget include human resources, new healthcare facilities and digital health, along with universal access to healthcare for all.
He added that the Madani Medical Scheme should also be expanded to ensure more people can enjoy free medical treatment at registered private clinics under the scheme.
Currently, the target group for the scheme includes recipients of the Rahmah Cash Aid Phase 1 this year in three categories within the B40 group: families, senior citizens (without spouses), and singles, with automatic eligibility.
The eligible recipients can enjoy acute primary care services and outpatient treatment at registered private clinics under the Madani Scheme, with the allocation of treatment benefits for each family up to RM250, senior citizens (without a spouse) (RM125) and single individuals (RM75).
Former Muslim Doctors Association vice-president Dr. Wan Julia Sham Ariffin also praised the prime minister's recent decision to prioritise healthcare funding and resources.
However, she highlighted the need to invest in medical education to produce more specialists as well as increase the number of permanent medical officers.
She stressed on the importance of increasing the number of permanent medical officers, mainly to handle the rising patient load and prevent overwork among doctors and specialists.
"A sufficient number of medical officers could provide better healthcare services to patients, along with improved working conditions for doctors," she said.
To combat the medical specialist shortage in the country, she stated the government should also support and encourage doctors to pursue specialist training abroad, in countries such as China, India, Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom.
"If we send our postgraduates to developed countries like China and Russia, we could learn from their advanced technologies.
"Exploring their technology is crucial, as they have demonstrated their ability to develop vaccines quickly and efficiently, making them excel beyond the UK and Australia," she said, adding that the knowledge gained during training abroad could be applied in Malaysia afterward.
Among other areas she hoped the government could look into were upgrading the information technology (IT) systems in government hospitals, especially in urban areas, and providing doctors with free computers for their daily work in the wards.
"The IT systems should also consist of simplifying the specialist registration process to make it more efficient," she added.
In the 2023 Budget, the Education Ministry received the biggest allocation, with RM55.2 billion being set aside this year compared to RM52.6 billion in 2022.
This was followed by the Health Ministry, which received a RM36.3 billion allocation this year compared to RM32.4 billion in the 2022 Budget.
The 2024 Budget is expected to be tabled on Oct 13 in the Dewan Rakyat.