Tengku Zafrul (third from right) handing over the wheelchairs to Lee (third from left).
NSCMH Dialysis Care, which provides subsidised treatment to some 600 patients, received a shot in the arm after Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz pledged to help it financially.
He made the pledge after being informed by NSCMH chairman Datuk Seri Lee Tian Hock that NSCMH Dialysis Care had to set aside RM3.75mil annually to subsidise patients’ treatment.
NSCMH Dialysis Care was set up in Seremban, Negri Sembilan in July 2014, but the number of centres increased to 12 after it took over 11 dialysis centres previously ran by Mawar Medical Centre.
“Running these centres costs some RM15mil a year,” Lee told reporters at the opening of its Kuala Pilah branch by Tengku Zafrul.
“However, we are able to collect only RM11.25mil including payments from agencies such as Socso, Health Ministry and Public Service Department.
“We have to fork out the remaining RM3.75mil,” said Lee.
He said each NSCMH Dialysis Care patient paid RM150 per session while those who were eligible received a subsidy of RM40 and need only pay RM110.
The centres are located in Negri Sembilan, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Johor and Sabah.
“We hope Tengku Zafrul can consider giving us some aid to ensure all 12 centres can operate.
“We want to help patients but we need some support from the government,” Lee added.
NSCMH Dialysis Care gets financial support from CMH Medical Centre, which sets aside a sum of money every month as part of its corporate social responsibility initiative to subsidise the cost of dialysis for these patients.
Tengku Zafrul, in his speech, said he was aware that the cost of dialysis treatment was rising.
He said based on a report by the Malaysian Dialysis and Transplantation Registry, some 50,000 Malaysians undergo dialysis treatment annually.
“The report also states that there are 8,000 new dialysis patients every year.“The cost of each treatment session is usually about RM170 and since each patient needs to undergo treatment 13 times a month, this comes up to over RM2,000,” he added.
Tengku Zafrul said since NSCMH Dialysis Care charged its patients a minimum fee, he would try to help the organisation reduce its deficit.
He noted that it was not possible for the government to bear the entire cost but pledged to do his best to provide some allocations.
Later, Tengku Zafrul handed over to Lee more than 20 wheelchairs to be used by patients at NSCMH Dialysis Care centres.
