COVID-19: Kerajaan perlu campur tangan, kawal selia kos ujian saringanJanuari 20, 2021 12:52 MYT
KUALA LUMPUR: Kerajaan diminta campur tangan untuk mengawal selia kos ujian swab COVID-19 yang dilihat masih berada pada kadar yang tinggi.

Pakar Kesihatan Awam, Fakulti Perubatan dan Sains Kesihatan, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Prof Madya Dr Malina Osman berkata, satu mekanisme penetapan harga perlu dibuat lantaran ujian tersebut dilihat sebagai satu keperluan pada ketika ini.

"Saya bagi contoh, macam kos saringan daripada tahun lepas hingga sekarang, jika kita bandingkan dalam tempoh 10 bulan, tidak banyak berkurangan dalam tempoh tersebut.
"Masih lagi dalam julat tiga digit iaitu antara RM100 ke RM300.

"Dalam keadaan sekarang ini, apabila jangkitan sudah meningkat dalam komuniti, wajar kos tersebut dikurangkan dan dimanfaatkan oleh lebih ramai individu," katanya ketika ditemu bual Astro AWANI hari ini.

Jelasnya, sekiranya kos saringan dapat dikurangkan, banyak manfaat akan diperoleh termasuk mengurangkan beban proses pengesanan kontak yang perlu dilakukan pihak Kementerian Kesihatan (KKM).

"Apabila murah, di kalangan keluarga yang dekat ataupun kontak rapat, mereka dapat tampil ke hadapan untuk membuat saringan secara sendiri dan seterusnya mengambil tindakan lebih awal.

"Ia jauh lebih baik daripada menunggu barisan hadapan untuk hadir atau memberi cadangan-cadangan dan arahan yang berkenaan.

November 5, 2020
PETALING JAYA: Of the 500,000 Malaysians reported to suffer from depression in the 2019 National Health and Morbidity Survey, 108,919 were young Malaysians, according to Befrienders KL.

They were between 15 and 24 years old, Befrienders publicity director Ardy Ayadali told FMT.

He also said those aged 28 and below made up 33% of the distress calls Befrienders received last year.

Referring to the current situation, Ardy said older people were experiencing emotional distress because they were working from home or had suffered loss of income.

However, he added, youths were more likely to get depression from the stress of academic and social struggles.

“But the causes of depression are complex,” he said. “In youths, these can include low self-esteem and poor interpersonal skills, which cause them to struggle with relationships with friends and family.”

He said family support played a key role in improving the younger generation’s well-being and he recommended that schools incorporate the topics of self-care, mental health issues and stress-coping skills into the syllabus.

See the source imageTuesday, 14 Jul 2020 04:12 PM MYT
KUALA LUMPUR, July 14 — Selangor has banned smoking and the consumption of alcohol in playgrounds and parks — the first state in Malaysia to do so.

State Local Government, Public Transportation and New Village Development chairman Ng Sze Han today said the Selangor government decided to include outlawing drinking alcohol, smoking and vaping under its 2005 Parks By-Laws of local councils.

Prior to the amendment, the by-laws do not list smoking and the consumption of alcohol as prohibited activities at parks and playgrounds.

“With this amendment to the Parks By-Laws 2005, Selangor under the leadership of Pakatan Harapan is set to be the first state in Malaysia to prohibit the drinking of alcohol and smoking at playgrounds and recreational parks,” the Kinrara assemblyman from DAP wrote in a statement on his official Facebook page.

Ng noted that Malaysians are increasingly prioritising and practising a healthy lifestyle, with parks and playgrounds increasingly frequented by the public including by children and the elderly for recreational activities, sports and family activities.

Cleanliness is something that cannot be compromised at restaurants, food courts and other eateries. It is not something just for campaign slogans or publicity but must be seen to be practised. Everyone knows the importance of cleanliness. However, the fact remains that dirty and unhygienic restaurants, food courts and eateries still exist. Some errant ones have even gone viral on social media.In fact, social media today plays an effective role in exposing eateries that do not practice cleanliness and hygiene.

On several occasions, I have witnessed dirty kitchens and toilets which make you lose your appetite.Does this reflect well on restaurant operators who pay scant regard to licensing rules and regulations?Are they aware that they are infringing sanitation and safety regulations under the Food Act 1983?Many of those preparing and serving food do not wear hairnets, gloves and aprons.No matter whether in the urban or the rural areas, many restaurants and eateries have cleanliness issues which need to be addressed.According to media reports, rats and cockroaches were found when inspections were carried out.

Michael Cole, Professor of Forensic Science, Anglia Ruskin University

IT IS estimated that there is a staggering £300m worth of medicine unused in the UK every year. But is it safe to take these medicines if they are past their expiry date?

Expiry dates are put in place after rigorous trialling and controlled experiments to ensure the safety and effectiveness of the drugs people take. In short, they guarantee the potency of the drug. Medicinal drugs are all chemicals and the rate at which they go off will depend upon their chemical structure, the drug preparation, how they are packaged, environmental conditions, whether they are subject to microbial contamination and their exposure to heat, light, oxygen and water.The drugs are sold in a variety of containers including bottles, blister packs, tubes and ampules. They are relatively secure while sealed. But once the seal is broken, the process of “going off” accelerates.

Common painkillers

Let’s look at an everyday drug like paracetamol. This is an “over the counter” medicine, freely available, which helps to reduce pain or a fever. Paracetamol is sometimes sold in brown sealed bottles. The seal keeps moisture and atmospheric oxygen out. The brown bottle keeps UV light out as this can also cause the drug to breakdown. Once the seal is broken, the tablets are exposed to water and oxygen in the air and breakdown begins.

Paracetamol is also sold in blister packs. These packs are permeable to water and oxygen so they are covered in, for example, polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC). This protects the contents and slows down the decomposition process but is still slightly permeable so doesn’t prevent it altogether.The consequence of this is that, despite the protection of the packaging, the drug content slowly declines. Research shows that when paracetomol based medicines go past their expiry date, up to 30% of the drug may break down in between 12 and 24 months.

KUALA LUMPUR: In just 10 days after Malaysia recorded its first case of 2019-nCoV coronavirus infection on Jan 25, 12 people have tested positive up to yesterday.The first three cases involved Chinese nationals who arrived in Johor from Singapore on Jan 23, while the most recent cases comprised two Malaysians evacuated from Wuhan, China, on Tuesday.Three Malaysians have tested positive for the virus, with the remaining cases involving Chinese nationals.Dubbed the Wuhan virus, in reference to the Chinese city of Wuhan in Hubei province where the virus was first detected, the virus has gripped the world in fear, with a growing threat to a country’s economy and its people’s wellbeing.

On Jan 30, the World Health Organisation declared a global health emergency as the virus poses a threat to countries with weak healthcare systems.This is not the first time that Malaysia had been shaken by a global health crisis.The first human Japanese encephalitis (JE) case (a vectorborne zoonotic disease caused by the Japanese encephalitis virus) was reported in Malaysia during World War 2 in a British prison in 1942.JE had four major outbreaks, namely in Langkawi in 1974, Penang (1988), Perak and Negri Sembilan (1998 - 1999) and Sarawak (1992).According to WHO, Malaysia has between nine and 91 reported cases of JE each year.

KUALA LUMPUR: Fomca welcomed the move by the government to drop the sole concessionaire system for the distribution of drugs and medical supplies to the Health Ministry’s facilities.While it said consumers are expected to get cheaper supplies with the dismantling of the distribution monopoly held by Pharmaniaga, an international research and advocacy organisation said the prices are not likely to go down as Pharmaniaga does not determine the prices of the supplies.

Fomca CEO Datuk Paul Selvaraj (pic) said while the Health Ministry had denied claims of Pharmaniaga monopolising the supplies of drugs and explained that the concessionaire was only for handling the logistics and distribution for the ministry, the move from a single supplier of services to an open tender system was a positive move.“With open tender, prices are likely to go down as it is expected to have more competitors, ” he said.
 Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad had announced that Pharmaniaga’s concession to distribute drugs and medical supplies for the ministry will end and there will be no concessionaire for logistics and distribution services any more.

Instead, an open tender system will be introduced, he said.Paul said the government should monitor the prices of medicines as they were quite high in Malaysia.“Whether encouraging the manufacturing of generics or greater competition or price controls, medicine has to be made accessible and affordable to people.“Big pharmaceutical companies are pushing back on these but the government should put the health of the people over the profits of pharmaceutical companies, ” he said.

Medicines are not a commodity.  Healthcare is a basic consumer right, and a major component of healthcare is the administration of medicines.  Medicines cure people and should never be treated as just another commodity, where pricing and accessibility would be determined by market forces. The Government has a critical role to play to ensure that all consumers, but especially the low and middle income have access to affordable medicines.

A Market Review on the Pharmaceutical Sector was undertaken by the Malaysia Competition Commission. According to the Report, “Malaysian drug prices are high by international standards”. It appears that the pharmaceutical companies in Malaysia are making exorbitant profits by international standards. In another study, it was found that “Malaysia has average higher retail prescription prices compared to Australia due to the lack of pharmaceutical regulation”. Further according to the Pharmaceutical Services Programme, Ministry of Health Malaysia (2018) on Medicines Prices Monitoring Malaysia (2017), wholesale medicine prices in Malaysia are 8 times greater than the International Reference Price (IRP). Further according to the Penang Institute, the median mark-up for originator’ and lowest-priced generics in private hospitals was 51% and 167% respectively.

FOMCA: Tindakan tegas untuk syarikat yang mengulangi kesalahan mengeluarkan produk kosmetik mengandungi racun berjadual.

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  4. Pharmacist finds fake Panadol being sold in Malaysia
  5. FOMCA : Perlindungan Insurans untuk Kesihatan Mental, Baskaran Sithamparam, Senior Manager FOMCA
  6. THE STAR Online: Teens’ social media use could lead to higher levels of depression
  7. Pil gugur janin tidak dibenar dijual di pasaran Malaysia
  8. MSM akan perkenal produk baharu berasaskan gula untuk kesihatan
  9. Health ministry orders recall of Starfresh, Water Funs bottled water
  10. Pelaksanaan cukai ke atas minuman bergula dapat kurangkan kos perubatan masa depan
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