IPOH: Health Deputy Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya today said many quarters have misunderstood the implementation of Full Paying Patient (FPP) scheme by claiming it will end subsidies for patients seeking treatment at government hospitals.

He said it was not true that the government would no longer subsidise patients following the FPP implementation.

“If the patient feel they can afford a specialist, then they can pay in full for their treatment which is still lower than the private hospitals,” he said.

The scheme, initiated in 2007, was to ensure retention of medical specialists in government hospital and provide them with extra income.

Dr Hilmi said the current scheme where patients only pay RM1 at government hospitals would not be affected.

“In fact, the government will allocate RM25 billion to Health Ministry next year, an increase of RM2 billion.” he said.

On another matter, Dr Hilmi said he disagreed with the Penang Institute findings that Malaysia should consider reviewing its 1.6 million civil servants.

“I read the report this morning where it stated that 430,000 will be sufficient.” he said, adding that it was unwise to reduce the number of civil servants because Malaysia still lacks doctors, paramedics and nurses.-nst