RAWANG, 11 JANUARY, 2011: The Health Ministry is studying whether to privatise the equipment sterilisation service at government hospitals with the use of the latest technology, instead of doing the task manually like at present. Its minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said privatising the service would reduce cost as the task of manually sterilising the medical equipment, including surgery tools, was now being done by nurses and laboratory assistants. He said this after officiating at the opening of the Certified Sterilization
Service Centre (CSSC) in the Rawang Industrial Park, here, today. The CSSC is developed by Sterile Service Sdn Bhd, a joint venture between KPJ Healthcare Berhad and Sterilgamma (M) Sdn Bhd, which offers sterilization service of international standard. Also present were Sterilgamma managing director Syed Ali Syed Jan Aljffri and KPJ Healthcare managing director Datin Paduka Siti Sa'adiah Sheikh Bakir. Liow said the ministry's equipment sterilisation units needed upgrading in terms of infrastructure, equipment and manpower in order to remain competitive and meet international standards. "We have 135 government hospitals nationwide with 94 sterilisation units," he added.
-- BERNAMA
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