Professor Dato Dr Subramaniam Muniandy
KUCHING (Dec 20): The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) is urging the government to conduct an audit through the Private Medical Practice Control Section on the mandatory Covid-19 screening of foreign workers.
Association president Professor Dato Dr Subramaniam Muniandy said that the screening would be to ensure that the highest standards of care and full compliance to the Ministry of Health (MoH) guidelines on infectious disease control was maintained throughout.
“MMA proposes that the audits be conducted on-site itself where mass screenings are being conducted,” said Dr Subramaniam in a statement today.
He explained the first phase of the Social Security Organisation (Socso) mandatory Covid-19 Rapid Test Kit (RTK) Antigen screening of foreign workers was now being conducted in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Negeri Sembilan, Labuan, Penang and Sabah.
“The screenings are mostly conducted on-site at factories and construction sites,” he said.
Dr Subramaniam added that the audits would also be necessary to prevent increasing attempts from middlemen to commercialise the Covid-19 screenings due to the high demand.
“There seems to be no control or enforcement over the activities of these middlemen acting as agents to provide Covid-19 screening to the employers. It must be noted that these middlemen are not healthcare providers.”
Dr Subramaniam stressed that employers must be aware that it was the doctor who would be fully liable and solely responsible for the screenings and standard of care provided.
“The Health Ministry had stated clearly in early November the Covid-19 tests by the private sector can only be carried out at a private medical clinic, ambulatory care centre or a private hospital.
“It also said that only private medical clinics could offer on-site screening in places such as factories, public halls, or in offices,” he said.
He said Socso had in fact informed employers to directly contact the doctors listed on their panel for the mandatory Covid-19 screenings and the full list of clinics on their panel is listed on their website.
The president added that his association had earlier highlighted the issue of middlemen attempting to squeeze doctors for the lowest fees possible to earn a bigger cut from the employers.
“We are concerned that if there is no control or enforcement, this can lead to a compromise in the quality of care in providing the screening services.”
He emphasised that the MoH had actually provided strict and detailed infectious disease control guidelines that must be fully complied with.
“All general practitioners listed on Socso’s panel have been trained to conduct the RTK Antigen swab tests. MMA warns that a person may be at serious risk of injury, health issues or a false negative result if the swab tests are performed incorrectly.”
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