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Poorly-staffed 1Malaysia Clinics cost ministry RM1.39 million in overtime claims
By Rajina Dhillion
KUALA LUMPUR, April 7:
A shortage in permanent staff at 1Malaysia clinics (K1M) resulted in RM1.39 million being paid in overtime claims between 2011 and last year.
This was the result of “borrowing” staff from health clinics and the state health department, the Auditor-General’s (A-G) 2013 Report tabled in Parliament today said.
In the report, it was also stated that the waiting time for patients could not be determined for 19 clinics, as only 6 out of 25 clinics prepared a report on this.
There was also one K1M that was poorly located in a less densely populated area with no access to public transportation.
There was a 12 to 26-month delay in finalising the rental agreement for five K1M premises in Sarawak, although these clinics were in operation and rental was paid.
The report stated that the rental agreement for the K1M premises in Gadek, Malacca, was signed by the Deputy Director of Health (Medical) despite the deputy not being authorised by the Minister of Health.
The monitoring of K1M by the technical audit team was also not carried out as scheduled.
Despite all these, the report praised the overall management of K1M and said it was “good”.
The report also stated that K1M implementation had achieved its objective in providing quality primary healthcare services to low-income groups in urban areas.
The report included suggestions to overcome the issues raised, such as immediate applications for permanent posts at K1M, expediting rental agreements and ensuring effective K1M monitoring by technical audit teams, among others.
K1M offers treatment for diseases using simple laboratory testing and stabilises patients before referring them to nearby hospitals.