Medical assistant for every rural clinic nationwide
July 9, 2010, Friday
SEPANG: The Health Ministry will upgrade every rural clinic nationwide by placing one medical assistant (MA) in each clinic in a bid to provide better health service to the community, said its minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.At present, he said every rural clinic nationwide was being managed by a nurse or community nurse.
“Hence, about 2,000 new MAs will be trained, while the retired ones will be retrained to serve on contract basis,” he told reporters after visiting the Sepang Rural Clinic yesterday.
Liow said with the MAs in place, rural clinics could expand their scope of service to other than for expectant mothers and babies only.
“In future, rural clinics will be able to offer treatment for minor illnesses like coughing, flu and normal fever to people from all walks of life.
“For a start, one MA will be placed at the Sepang Rural Clinic beginning next month,” he said.
On the people’s request to have a Health Clinic built in Sepang, Liow said the ministry’s Development Planning Division had been asked to look for a suitable piece of land for the clinic.
“The ministry expects the construction of the new Health Clinic to be implemented in the second phase of the 10th Malaysia Plan because the first phase will only see the construction of health clinics at sites already acquired.” In another development, Liow said the ministry was in the midst of increasing the number of teams for the Communication For Behavioural Impact programme to 1,000 as the existing 600 were deemed insufficient.
He said this was another effort taken by the ministry to curb dengue fever, which was rampant in the country now. — Bernama
