KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 16 — The ambulance service provided by the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Malaysian Civil Defence Force (APM) has not reached the target based on audits conducted from 2017 until 2021.

According to the Auditor-General’s Report (LKAN) 2021 Series 2, based on the scope of the audit, it can be concluded that MoH did not achieve the set key performance index (KPI), which is 31.5 per cent to 41.8 per cent compared to the target of 50 per cent.

"As for APM, it was 86.5 per cent compared to the target of 100 per cent, while the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) has reached the set target, which is 65.1 per cent,” as stated in the report which was issued today.

The report also stated that some findings or weaknesses that should be noted included the management’s weakness to activate the response team at the hospital that is close to the location of the incident is the cause of the delay and non-achievement of the KPI.

Also, ambulance supply under the emergency provision is 10 months later than the approved supply date, it said.

In order to overcome the weaknesses and ensure that the ambulance service achieves its objectives as a fast transport service for emergency cases and pre-hospital treatment, as well as an intermediate medium in patient transport, the audit recommended the following actions.

One of them is for MoH and APM to formulate appropriate and suitable methods for setting KPIs to be achieved based on the distance and capacity of the assets.

"Review the placement of ambulances in hospitals/health clinics and District Operation Control Centres (PKOD) according to the location of the incident to ensure that the set KPI is achieved,” it said.

The MoH, it said, also needs to ensure that the contract renewal process is carried out before the contract expires to avoid the issue of small payment breakdowns.

However, according to the report, the overall ambulance service in Malaysia by MoH, APM and JBPM is satisfactory. — Bernama