KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry has no plans to expand the implementation of extended hours (EH) at health clinics, the Senate was told Monday (March 10).
Deputy Minister Datuk Lukanisman Awang Sauni said that based on its implementation at selected clinics, it did not solve the congestion problem, especially in the Green Zone.
"The presence of patients increased even though we introduced extended hours. We found that the extended hours provide more opportunities for patients to obtain services from the public health system.
"Therefore, we are still studying the suitability of the EH method to reduce congestion in the Green Zone, as we have facilities that have introduced short-stay units in the Emergency Zone areas," he said during the question and answer session at the Dewan Negara.
He was responding to a supplementary question from Senator Dr Lingeshwaran R. Arunasalam who wanted to know the impact of the implementation of extended hours in health clinics on congestion at the Emergency Department.
According to Lukanisman, extended hours were implemented in 2008 to alleviate congestion in the Green Zone of the Emergency and Trauma Department at the Health Ministry's facilities in the country.
Currently, a total of 49 Health Clinics have adopted the practice.
"Generally, extended hours operate on weekdays from 5pm to 9.30pm on weekdays and from 9am to 1pm on Saturdays," he said.
In 2023, he said, six health clinics, out of 49 clinics that implement extended hours, were selected for the Special Task Force on Agency Reform (STAR) pilot project.
The clinics are Bandar Botanik Health Clinic in Klang, Ampang Health Clinic, Taman Ehsan Health Clinic, Kuala Lumpur Health Clinic, Greentown Health Clinic in Perak, and Mahmudian Health Clinic in Johor. - Bernama
