KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 18 — The Health Ministry will issue Cease Operations orders to any private hospitals or clinics if they fail to meet the national standards as stipulated under the Private Hospitals Act 1971.

Its deputy minister, Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya, said the standards should be met to ensure public health and safety.

“This is for the sake of the patients and they (hospitals) must adhere to the SOP (Standard Operating Procedures). If noncompliance persists, we will close down the hospitals,” he told reporters after opening the Breast Cancer and Colon Cancer Awareness Forum organised by Selayang Hospital here today.

Dr Hilmi said this in response to a report that a maternity hospital in Negri Sembilan had violated the Act, including by giving expired medicines to patients, besides not having an adequate number of specialists and anesthetists.

Yesterday, a Chinese daily reported that the ministry had issued a warning letter to the hospital management and gave it two weeks to improve the situation or face closure.

In his speech earlier, Dr Hilmi said the National Cancer Registry of Malaysia recorded 3,500 cases of breast cancer in 2011, compared to less than 3,000 cases in 2001.

“The number of colon cancer cases, however, did not show much difference as 2,572 cases were recorded in 2007 and 2,425 cases in 2011,” he said.

Some 400 participants attended the one-day forum, which was organised in conjunction with the Breast Cancer and Colon Cancer Awareness Month. — Bernama