PETALING JAYA: The Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia (APHM) has demanded that the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) apologise for taking action against a hospital van which had been ferrying foreign patients to a private hospital in Penang.
Its president Datuk Dr Jacob Thomas described it as “a step backward”, especially after the country had invested millions to promote itself as a medical tourism destination.
“We used to have problems when vans ferrying patients from airports were stopped by the authorities. However, this was resolved when the Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak) announced in his speech at the launch of the Malaysian Healthcare Travel Council that hospital vehicles will be allowed to ferry patients,” said Dr Jacob.
“This (incident) reflects badly on us,” he added.
He said private hospitals were also required to submit to a list of passengers that they had picked up to JPJ on a daily basis.
On Monday, a group of Indonesian patients were on their way from the Penang International Airport to a private hospital in Penang when their van was stopped by a SPAD patrol car.
According to reports, the hospital van was brought to the Bayan Lepas police station for about an hour.
The van was then allowed to send the patients to the hospital before it was again held at the police station pending investigations.
Dr Jacob also demanded that SPAD release the van that is still being held at the Bayan Lepas police station.
SPAD enforcement head Mej-Jen (Rtd) Datuk Paduka Che Hasni Che Ahmad said the commission was investigating the incident to determine whether proper documentation had been prepared for the vehicle.
“According to the Land Public Transport Act 2010, every vehicle that provides a service must be licensed,” said Che Hasni, adding that passengers might not be able to get insurance coverage if they rode in an unlicensed vehicle.
In December 2009, Najib was reported to have said that the Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board would issue relevant permits to hospitals or medical facilities registered under the Health Ministry for the promotion of healthcare travel.
It was reported that the permits would enable hospital vehicles to ferry patients and accompanying persons from the airport as well as their hotel. - The Star
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