He said he was saddened over the report as it had affected the morale of the state health department’s personnel.
“I am saddened by such a news report. As such, I urge all quarters to respect the profession (of those) in the healthcare sector, especially in Johor, by not painting a negative picture,” he said in a statement here today.
Ayub was commenting on the report which alleged there was slow response time of up to 30 minutes by an ambulance vehicle from the Sultanah Aminah Hospital (HSA) following a hit-and-run incident involving a 25-year-old Singaporean man on Aug 25.
The report also claimed that HSA had demanded a deposit from the victim’s family and friends before consenting to treat the patient.
“Basically, it has been a practice by the emergency department staff of all government hospitals not to ask for a deposit before any treatment for critical cases like the case mentioned above, including for foreigners.
“Therefore, I deny the (death) case was due to the delay of the ambulance or payment issue,” said Ayub.
Ministry denies delaying treatment for Singaporean accident victim
Man dies after JB hospital demands cash before treatment, claims Singapore portal