KUALA LUMPUR: Md Nor Hamid, 63, from here, had a heart attack in 2020 and was deemed by doctors to be in urgent need of a bypass operation.
However, like many others, the Melaka resident found it difficult to obtain treatment at a government hospital.
"I tried to secure an appointment for surgery at the National Heart Institute (IJN), but the waiting period was too long.
"The doctors at the Alor Gajah Hospital in Melaka also tried to get me an appointment at Selayang Hospital, but again, the waiting period was too long," he said.
Their perseverance eventually paid off and they were given a date about a week later to go for a diagnostic procedure at IJN.
"Upon assessment, I was given a date for my bypass surgery. Unfortunately, it was six months later.
"My family was shocked. We were worried about whether I could survive until then," he said.
Nor, however, considered himself fortunate to have friends who helped him raise more than RM70,000 so that he could undergo the operation at IJN's private wing.
"We told IJN that we had the money. We were given a new date, which was 1½ months later.
"That was a huge change from the half-a-year wait that I received earlier at their public wing," he said.
Unfortunately for housewife Murni Musli, 29, and her husband, they didn't have "rich" friends to help them raise money for private treatment.
The Sabah couple had just celebrated the birth of their daughter, Carnella Qisya Calvin, who was born on November 26, 2022, when the baby started experiencing breathing difficulties.
Carnella was immediately admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for seven days, where she was given oxygen until her condition improved.
"She came home for only three days before being admitted again for jaundice, sudden weight gain, and swollen eyes and body.
"She was also given high-pressure oxygen," Murni said, adding that her baby was diagnosed with Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD).
Carnella, now slightly more than 4 months old, then had to fully depend on the oxygen machine for a month before she was flown to IJN in Kuala Lumpur on Jan 28 for surgery.
"I was in anguish, thinking about how much she was suffering.
"When we finally got the date, it was a huge relief. I was praying hard for the phone call," she said.
Murni considered herself fortunate that she was able to secure an operation for her child relatively quickly. She said she had friends who had to wait more than six months.
"Some of my friend's children had more complicated conditions, such as holes in the heart and heart valve failure, yet they had to wait for more than six months," she said.
She said hoped the government could do something to expedite the waiting period for heart patients.
"I feel there is a need to expedite the procedure for the less fortunate who depend on government funding."