Refugee Baby S Death Shows Up Lack Of Compassion

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From Hartini Zainudin
One of the most heart-wrenching and challenging moments in my professional life took place last Friday. We lost a five-month-old refugee infant whom we had been financially supporting.
The grieving father recounted how the hospital had denied the child immediate admission because the family couldn’t afford the RM700 deposit. They were told to either wait a few days or seek help elsewhere. Lacking proper guidance, the father chose to wait.
I believe this death could have been prevented if the hospital’s registration department had exercised compassion and common sense. A simple phone call could have made all the difference – we had previously settled the child’s hospital bill in full.
I can’t help but wonder if they even bothered to check the baby’s existing records. What makes this loss even more devastating is that the baby was discharged from the same hospital just a week prior.
This is the very same government hospital against which I lodged a complaint before Deepavali. Have they learnt nothing?
Need for systemic change
This heartbreaking incident is a stark reminder of the life-altering consequences when bureaucracy overshadows basic human compassion. It underscores the urgent need for systemic change in how our health system treats its most vulnerable patients.
We must redouble our efforts to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again.
In healthcare, compassion is about taking action to address a patient’s needs, responding to another’s distress with concrete steps to help.
Research shows that compassionate care leads to faster recovery and more responsible healthcare management, with patients adhering better to treatment plans.
Yet in Malaysia, refugees and asylum-seekers face significant barriers to healthcare. Despite the health ministry’s 50% subsidy for foreigners, medical fees remain prohibitively pricey for many refugees, barred from formal employment here.
The five-month-old’s predicament highlights a critical gap between healthcare policy and humanitarian needs.
Moving forward, we must examine how we can create more inclusive policies that uphold both fiscal responsibility and fundamental human rights. Compassionate care isn’t just an ideal. It’s a crucial component of effective healthcare delivery.
Financial strategies
Healthcare organisations can adopt several key approaches.
They can establish compassionate payment policies with flexible arrangements while discussing financial obligations in non-threatening ways and after emergency care is delivered.
They can build an integrated care model by embedding social workers alongside medical staff to better address patients’ medical, social, and psychological needs.
There is also a need for an organisational cultural shift among hospital administrative staff. This requires a shift in priorities, with quality of care taking precedence over bureaucratic targets.
Healthcare facilities can also establish clear protocols to discuss costs without interrupting care, and partner with community organisations to provide comprehensive support.
I urge the health ministry to look into this call to action now. We need to overcome the bias and xenophobic tendencies of certain hospital staff towards refugees and marginalised communities.
I also look forward to hearing an explanation from this particular hospital and its officers as to what happened.
There was supposed to be an investigation the last time I complained publicly — what happened? - FMT
Hartini Zainudin is a co-founder of Yayasan Chow Kit.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.

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