PETALING JAYA: Doctors in the private sector are hoping they will not be sidelined in Budget 2021 as the Covid-19 pandemic has taken a toll on their financial health, says Malaysia Medical Association president Prof Datuk Dr M. Subramaniam.
He said while many other sectors had received some form of aid from the government, general practitioners have been left out.
“We hope to see some form of compensation mechanism when Budget 2021 is tabled next month,” he said.
Dr Subramaniam said that general practitioners had been hit hard as the number of patients at their clinics had dropped significantly.
“Many clinic operators are suffering in silence as their revenue has dropped. However, their expenditure continues to rise with the cost of goods,” he said.
Dr Subramaniam said that there was a real possibility that many clinics could shut down.
“So far there have been no financial rescue packages to assist clinics and GPs who are also under financial distress.
“We hope to see rescue packages for the private healthcare sector,” he said when contacted on Thursday (Oct 15).
He was commenting on grouses from doctors in the private sector who were forced to accept pay cuts.
Dr Subramaniam also said that he hoped to see Penjana packages for doctors from the government.
“Covid-19 is not going away any time soon and doctors need to be economically resuscitated too,” he said. -The Star