The Malaysian Ministry of Health (MOH) is considering a new approach to ambulance services by collaborating with private hospitals to create a shared pool of ambulances accessible through an app, akin to e-hailing services.
This initiative, led by MOH deputy secretary-general Norazman Ayob, aims to turn ambulance services into an e-hailing, allowing the nearest available ambulance—whether government or private—to respond to emergency calls and transport patients to their choice of a public or private hospital, according to CodeBlue.
This shift moves away from the traditional model where hospitals must own their ambulances. Instead, the MOH will lease ambulances, potentially including paramedics, and focus on partnerships with private hospitals to reduce redundancy and share costs.
Through this app-based system, callers would no longer need to dial the 999 emergency hotline, bypassing both the 999 operator and the Medical Emergency Coordinating Centre, thus expediting response times.
It would also allow patients and their families to track ambulance location and estimated arrival. The change addresses issues like restricted patient destinations, as currently, MOH ambulances often transport patients only to government facilities even if a private hospital is preferred.