Rural Sarawak folks without flying doctors service

By PKR

Parti Keadilan Rakyat Sarawak

2007-04-07 | PRESS STATEMENT (28 March 2007): The federal and state government, particularly the Ministry of Health and the State Department of Health, are today urged to reveal the tender awarded to a private company and the implementation of the work under the tender to provide health services, i.e. Flying Doctor Services (FDS), Medical Emergency Evacuation Services (Medevac) and other requisite ancillary health services, in Sarawak.

"Through our investigation and from the information received by us, the single health service contract to implement the Flying Doctor Services (FDS), Medical Emergency Evacuation Services (Medevac) and other requisite ancillary health services in Sarawak awarded to a civil aviation company, commencing 01.01.2007 and for a period of 4 years, is most lucrative, believe to cost the country RM64 million," said See Chee How.

"Under the contract, Contract No. JKNSWK/PDU/SWK/T2003/ HQ/(11), the company is to provide 3 units of aircraft per day for 5 days a week except on Saturday, Sunday and public holidays for the Flying Doctor Services which is to serve 158 rural stations throughout Sarawak (see annexure A)."

"It is also to equip itself with 2 units of aircraft per day for 6 days a week except on Sunday and public holidays and 1 aircraft on Sunday and public holiday for Medical Emergency Evacuation Services (Medevac)."

"The Flying Doctor Service is an important service provided by the health department to fulfill and realize the objectives and aims of the government to provide an efficient and effective health services and it is particularly crucial to Sarawak as these 158 stations are remote rural communities which do not have ready access to medical care and services. Besides these 158 communities, there are numerous other villages and longhouses within the vicinity of these stations which are benefiting from this health service programme."

"Certain longhouses and settlements are located in the remote interior of the state which will take days to walk on foot and or boat ride to reach the nearest village community equipped with basic medical and health care facilities. It would be arduous and onerous for the elderly and sick patients to endure the journey."

"For these rural folks, the flying doctor services and Medevac services are their only choice and hope for the fundamental rights to basic medical care and services, and in the instances of seriously or critically ill patients, transportation to the better equipped urban hospital or medical centres."

"Without the flying doctor services, the inhabitants of these 158 rural communities and other villages and longhouses within the vicinity of these stations are deprived of basic health care and medical services, constituting injustice and deprivation of life."

"We have reliably learnt that many native patients who have to exhaust their savings or resort to borrowings and traveled for days to reach Marudi Hospital have complained to the medical officers in the hospital and made enquiries why the flying doctors have not been visiting their communities for months."

"In view of the deprivation inflicted upon the rural poor, it is imperative that the federal and state government, particularly the Ministry of Health and the State Department of Health must immediately rectify the situation and ensure the flying doctors service resumes."

"Furthermore, the state and federal authorities must look into these complaints seriously and a thorough and transparent investigation and or inquiry must be conducted to determine how this totally unacceptable situation has arise in the first place and to further ensure that public funds have not been misused or squandered while the poor rural folks suffer in silence."

"The relevant departments certainly cannot and should not close their eyes to this destitution. From the information gathered by us, the company which was awarded the contract does not possess a serviceable aircraft. All it has is an aircraft chartered from another aviation company and that aircraft does not satisfy the requisite specifications as stipulated in the tender documents."

"It is puzzling why this company was awarded the contract, instead of the former service provider who has their own fleet of aircrafts and had operated the flying doctor services in Sarawak for the past 23 years. It is equally bewildering for the government to pay more than double the contract sum that was paid to the previous operator"

The fact that the flying doctor service was 'grounded' was widely reported in the press at the end of January 2007 but after nearly 2 months, it appears that the predicament has yet to be redressed. Even the 'personal assurance' by the Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr. George Chan 2 months ago rings hollow.

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