The suspension of the NS Chinese Maternity Hospital and Medical Centre's (NSCMH) licence by the Health Ministry last week is only temporary.

The ministry’s deputy director-general (medical) Dr Jeyaindran Sinnadurai said the ministry could consider lifting the ban if NSCMH could address and comply with the various requirements which it had violated earlier.

He said, by having resident doctors in core disciplines, namely obstetrics and gynaecology; paediatrics; anaesthesiology and radiology; and convene the functions of the Medical Advisory Committee, NSCMH might be partially operational in providing mainly, the maternity and gynaecological services.

“At the same time, there should not be intervention by non-medical personnel in patient care and management that are being provided,” he said in a statement in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Dr Jeyaindran said if NSCMH could provide resident doctors in other areas such as surgery, internal medicine and orthopaedics, the hospital would be allowed to provide full in-patient services.

On Nov 21, the ministry suspended the hospital’s in-patient services for committing 10 violations of the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998.

Its director-general, Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, was reported as saying the hospital was not allowed to admit new patients, and the existing in-patients were to be transferred to other hospitals as patient safety and quality of healthcare were of paramount importance to the ministry.

He said the suspension order followed a thorough investigation into a complaint received by the ministry in August, and was substantiated by findings obtained during a verification visit to the hospital on Sept 4.

“These violations encompass matters involving both in-patient and out-patient services.

“One such example is that NSCMH lacks full-time resident doctors in certain core disciplines, thus raising concerns about patient safety,” he added.

- Bernama