Hiccups in amendments to the Medical Act 1971 before implementation

Issues raised in the judicial review application by four parallel pathway trainees from the Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh are among the issues that has not been resolved in the amendment to the Medical Act 1971.

This is a vital aspect before one can see the Medical Act 1971 being implemented.

The four filed the application after failing to register with the National Specialist Register.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad confirmed that four qualifications have not been included in Schedule 4 of the bill.

“The bill is expected to be tabled in the Dewan Negara this week and it will be implemented soon.

“We have some outstanding issues and we are taking immediate action on them.”

He said this at a press conference after launching the Cardiovascular Risk Reduction Clinic (CRRC) at the National Heart Institute (IJN) today.

The amendments that was passed aimed to improve provisions for the approval process and specialist expertise of medical practitioners.

It also empowers Malaysian Medical Council to recognise the qualification and specialist training to register medical practitioners and specialists.

The bill would ensure improvements in the quality and quantity of medical specialists produced by the country, whether through undergraduate programmes or parallel pathways, Dzulkefly said.