RECENTLY, a private message has gone viral alleging that the National Heart Institute had been privatised and would no longer provide government-subsidised treatment from Sunday onwards.
The message claimed that the Heart Institute had also privately briefed its current patients on their immediate transportation to the government hospital of their choice for further treatment.
Is this true?
VERDICT:
FALSE
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad has since swiftly debunked the claims in a post on his official Facebook account on Sunday (Aug 18).
He clarified that the National Heart Institute’s status as a corporatised entity that the government fully owns under the Minister of Finance Incorporated would be maintained.
“Allegations that IJN (National Heart Institute) will be privatised are completely unfounded.
“The current existing policy for IJN as a corporate body owned by the Minister of Finance Incorporated is permanent,” he wrote in his Facebook post.
He also reiterated that sharing patient loads between the Heart Institute and government hospitals was a strategic partnership to optimise the use of resources.
