TAIPING: The Health Ministry is still compiling information for ex-gratia compensation payments to the families of healthcare workers killed in the Flying Doctor Service (FDS) helicopter crash in Long Lellang, Sarawak.
Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said the ministry was currently working with the Public Service Department’s Pension Division and the Finance Ministry on issues involving ex-gratia payments, retirement benefits and other related matters.
The details could not be disclosed at this stage as authorities were still compiling the information, he said.
The ex-gratia payment involved several components and the calculation was detailed, he added.
“The process is still ongoing,” he said.
On when the FDS will resume operations, he said it will only start again once investigations into the matter are completed and the necessary decision is made.
“We want to resume as soon as possible. We will not wait once we are able to resume.
“But until a decision has been made, everything remains dependent on the outcome of the investigation,” he told reporters after a working visit to Hospital Taiping here yesterday.
Dzulkefly said the suspension had affected scheduled visits to rural and interior areas.
He said the FDS served more than 14,000 residents.
“These are not medical emergency visits but scheduled visits that we conduct in the rural and interior areas,” he said.
The helicopter involved in the Sarawak crash was operated by Layang Layang Aerospace Sdn Bhd, a private charter firm based in Kota Kinabalu.
In the incident on Sept 8, four medical personnel and a pilot were killed in the crash at Long Lellang STOLport airstrip.
On the visit to the hospital, Dzulkefly said the ministry has allocated over RM1.65mil to upgrade and improve facilities at the hospital.
He said the allocation covers upgrading, renovation and repair works involving healthcare facilities, toilets and other areas.
He said this was an increase from the RM571,000 allocated last year for improvements involving the hospital’s Emergency Department and psychiatric wards.
