I refer to the Malaysiakini report Stop private wing in government hospitals and fully support PKR Vice-president Dr Lee Boon Chye’s views.

Let me relate my personal experience on this matter. A few years ago, my wife was undergoing treatment for a critical illness in a government hospital with a private wing for specialist care. She was required to undergo surgery and was told that the waiting time was about six weeks.

The specialist treating her suggested that he could get the surgery done at the private wing within a week! Because of the high cost factor, my wife decided to wait and get it done at the government wing. After waiting for about four weeks, her condition became quite serious and she had to undergo the surgery at the private wing without further delay.

During her recuperation at the private wing, the specialist doctor was very friendly and had plenty of patience and time to check on her recovery and answer all our queries. Of course, we ended up paying more than double the amount estimated by the specialist.

When she went back to the government wing for further evaluation and treatment, the same specialist showed his typical 'government doctor' attitude. He became very formal and did not have the patience to answer our queries. In fact, for all the fanfare and exorbitant charges at the private wing, my wife found the nursing care at the government wing far better than the private wing.

It was unfortunate that my wife had recurrence of the illness and passed away about two years later as she could not respond well to the treatment offered to her. I am not saying anything bad about the hospital or the treatment. The most disappointing thing was the attitude of the specialist doctor.

He seemed to have two faces – one for his patients at the government wing and another for the same patients if they choose to be treated at the private wing. My wife was his patient until her end and it was extremely sad that he did not come forward to extend his sympathy even though he was in the hospital on the day she died.

I am pretty sure that he would have definitely spared time to come and console us if my wife had passed away at the private wing.

I do not want to say that all specialist doctors at government hospitals lack empathy and consideration for their patients. But a clear conflict of interest arises when private wings for specialists are allowed at government hospitals.

The specialists at government hospitals with private wings are openly offered plenty of opportunities to make the most and it will be only natural for them to have more time and consideration for patients at the private wing. And I believe they do not have to spend anything at all for all the infrastructure and facilities used by them at the private wing.

This is clearly detrimental to the public seeking treatment at the government wing. It will ultimately lead to unpleasant compromises in the care of patients at the government wing. The government should look at other options to overcome the dearth of specialists at public hospitals.

In the short term, it should seriously look at ‘importing’ more specialists from overseas. The Health Ministry should carry out a comprehensive study on this matter and implement meaningful measures to appoint more specialists at public hospitals and to effectively retain their services on a long term basis.

It is not ethical and does not augur well for the country’s health care system to have private wings for specialists at government hospitals.