KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry is working on a plan to tap the Social Security Organisation’s (PERKESO) world-class rehabilitation centres to treat patients, including children with cerebral palsy, says Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.
The Health Minister said the move would optimise existing rehabilitation facilities through a whole-of-government approach to ease congestion and address the shortage of specialist rehabilitation services at ministry facilities.
Dzulkefly said legal hurdles must first be resolved as PERKESO's rehabilitation centres currently operate under the Employees’ Social Security Act 1969, which limits treatment to contributors, while the ministry operates under the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998.
"I believe it is crucial that we address these constraints immediately. PERKESO’s rehabilitation sector provides world-class, high-technology services, including neuro-robotics and the Walk Again programme," he said during Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday (June 29).
"I have proposed that discussions be expedited to enable the ministry to implement the Health Services Outsourcing Programme (HSOP).
"Through it, we can make full use of PERKESO's state-of-the-art facilities not only for contributors, but also for other patients not covered under the scheme," he told Dr Kelvin Yii (PH-Bandar Kuching).
Yii had asked about the government’s action plan to reduce cerebral palsy cases and strengthen support for patients with mild cases.
Dzulkefly said the ministry recorded 1,076 cerebral palsy cases treated at its clinics and hospitals between 2016 and last year.
He said the causes generally fall into three stages: prenatal, perinatal and postnatal.
He said prenatal causes are commonly linked to infections, which is why the ministry provides measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination to women before pregnancy, as rubella infection can cross the placenta and affect the foetus.
Perinatal causes are closely associated with hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE), a condition caused by insufficient oxygen supply to the brain during childbirth, while postnatal cases are often linked to brain infections after birth, he added.
Dzulkefly said the ministry was committed to strengthening early screening, intensive treatment and multidisciplinary rehabilitation to ensure children with cerebral palsy receive timely intervention.
He also praised the work of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) such as the Cerebral Palsy Children’s Association (GAPS), saying they had demonstrated that many children with the neurological disorder have normal cognitive function.
"If early intervention can be carried out promptly through a whole-of-government approach involving my ministry, the Education Ministry, the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry, and the Human Resources Ministry, we can ensure these children remain productive.
"This will enable them to pursue education, secure employment, build families and contribute their full potential to society and the nation," he said.
