Sunway medical centres to accept non-COVID-19 patients from public hospitals

SUBANG JAYA (March 27): Sunway Group Bhd's healthcare division has pledged to accept non-COVID-19 patients from public hospitals recommended by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) in an effort to ease the burden on government healthcare facilities who are currently in the midst of combating the COVID-19 outbreak.

In a media statement yesterday, the group stated that it has been in close contact with the MOH and UMMC to help decant their COVID-19 cases so that government facilities can focus on managing confirmed COVID-19 cases.

The group will also be setting aside 100 beds across both Sunway Medical Centre in Bandar Sunway and Sunway Medical Centre Velocity in Kuala Lumpur as well as a budget of up to RM12 million to cover the cost of subsidising treatment for these patients from MOH and UMMC hospitals. This initiative is expected to benefit around 4,000 patients.

According to the group, the discussion has now reached its final phase and both Sunway hospitals will soon start to receive these patients at existing government rates. Sunway's healthcare division has also invested heavily in essential equipment and apparatus to safeguard the health and safety of its staff and patients.

Meanwhile, Sunway Group has pledged RM1.3 million to ensure the security of livelihoods for COVID-19 patients and the B40 communities. From this amount, it has donated RM1 million to the government's COVID-19 Fund and RM300,000 to help the B40 communities (alongside Yayasan Kebajikan Negara and other collaborations) in all Sunway townships nationwide.

Its retail division Sunway Malls had earlier offered rental waiver to non-essential retailers during the duration of the Movement Control Order (MCO), amounting to some RM20 million.

In total, Sunway has committed RM34 million to help in the fight against the outbreak. Sunway Group founder and chairman Tan Sri Dr Jeffrey Cheah said the aid is to help Malaysians who need it the most to tide over these difficult times, adding that the commitment is expected to support some 40,000 beneficiaries.

“The impact of COVID-19 on larger businesses is universal. However, it is now important for us to pay attention to those who need it the most – COVID-19 patients who have lost their jobs because of the disease, the non-essential retailers who have had to shut down their businesses temporarily, our own employees who have been affected, and also our front-line healthcare staff comprising doctors and nurses as well as other employees within the Sunway healthcare division who are at risk while serving national interests," said Cheah.

“And not forgetting the B40 communities. As we always have done, we stand alongside Malaysians in these trying times. We are all in this together and we can overcome this crisis as a nation,” he added.

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