Got a complaint? Email me, KJ tells frontliners

 

Health minister Khairy Jamaluddin taking notes during a briefing at Tampin Hospital today. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA: Health minister Khairy Jamaluddin has set up an email account exclusively to receive and address complaints from healthcare workers on the front lines.

In an interview with the media, he said frontliners could channel their complaints to menteri@moh.gov.my anonymously if they preferred to keep their identities a secret.

“This email is particularly for frontliners who want to make direct reports, anonymously is fine too, on issues they face on the front lines, so that there’s open communication with me as the health minister,” he said.

He said this while announcing the various key performance indices that he will aim to fulfil in the next 100 days in the post, which ranges from matters pertaining to Covid-19, mental health and the contract doctor issue.

But not among his KPIs was daily Covid-19 cases. Khairy explained that the ministry does aim to bring down the number of daily cases, but coming up with a projection was a different matter altogether.

“Of course, we aim for cases to drop, but with the emergence of new variants, we’re not sure how much it can drop. So the focus is on the outcome of Covid-19, namely deaths and ICU admissions.

“But we do feel that cases should come down. Because although vaccines don’t prevent transmission, they reduce the chances of transmission,” he said.

Khairy said he will continue to push to achieve the benchmark of vaccinating at least 80% of the total population to ensure the nation can move into the endemic phase, which would see most economic and social sectors reopen.

“We will continue to encourage people and incentivise them. Worst comes to worst, we’ll make it compulsory. But if possible, I don’t want that to happen,” he said.

He reiterated that the government will reopen sectors responsibly and safely, but reminded Malaysians that SOPs like mask-wearing and physical distancing will still be in place.

He added that some sectors would be considered more high-risk, such as indoor concerts and entertainment events, with issues such as ventilation a key factor that must be assessed.

While keeping a hopeful outlook at the prospects of achieving all of his 100-day KPIs, Khairy said some things were out of his control and could affect his goals.

“For instance, new variants may result in a worsening of the situation. I hope that won’t happen. But these are targets that we agreed upon based on present circumstances.

“Things can change, and if they do, we will make adjustments,” he said. - FMT