KPJ Healthcare Berhad

Malaysia investing heavily in healthcare

he healthcare industry will continue to be a mainstream of economic growth as the sector needs rise in the coming years.

PETALING JAYA: The healthcare industry will continue to be a mainstream of economic growth as the sector needs rise in the coming years.

Chief Secretary to the government Datuk Seri Ali Hamsa said to address the growing healthcare demand, the government is investing heavily in the expansion of public healthcare infrastructure.

He noted that in the recent 2013 Budget, the government focused, among others, on enhancing the well-being of the public.

"The government will continue to ensure the rakyat enjoys good health by allocating RM19.3 billion for operating and development expenditure in the health sector," he said at the opening of the KPJ Healthcare Conference and Exhibition 2012 here last Saturday.

In 2013 Budget, the government will allocate RM20 million to establish 70 new 1Malaysia clinics next year.

"In addition, RM100 million will be allocated to upgrade 350 clinics nationwide as well as provide an additional 150 dialysis machines in government haemodialysis centres across the country. In this context, the healthcare industry will continue to be a mainstream of economic growth, due to demographic shifts such as extended longevity and a rise in lifestyle diseases such as hypertension and cardiovascular ailments and diabetes," he said.

The two-day KPJ Medical Conference, themed "Transforming Healthcare - Public Private Collaboration", focused on bringing together the public-private and medical institutions' collaborations in discussing the continuous changes in the international and national healthcare scenario.

"Better partnership and collaboration of services can be fostered where the best of each system can be harnessed for the healthcare betterment of our citizens," Datin Siti Sa'diah Sheikh Bakir, managing director of KPJ Healthcare Bhd, said.

She said this is an opportune time to ensure that the mechanisms for better partnership between public and private healthcare sectors are forged to facilitate a closer and more meaningful collaboration.

KPJ is a leading healthcare service provider in Malaysia, operating the country's largest network of 22 private specialist hospitals.

It also has a presence in Indonesia with two hospitals in Jakarta and a retirement and aged-care resort called Jeta Gardens in Brisbane, Australia.

It is the largest listed healthcare group on Bursa Malaysia.