A hospital in Kuala Lumpur has retracted its ban on food delivery services like Grab and Foodpanda after its directive caught flak on social media.
In a statement, Sungai Buloh Hospital Director Dr Kuldip Kaur Prem Singh said the decision to withdraw the ban was made after the hospital received “feedback”.
“Please be informed that hospital management has retracted the ban mentioned in the memo dated August 9, 2022, with immediate effect.”
“Thank you for all the feedback and views given on the matter. The hospital is always committed towards the welfare and needs of the hospital staff,” said Dr Kuldip in the statement.
Yesterday, Hartal Doktor Kontrak, an unofficial workers’ union consisting of medical officers, tweeted the directive and said the hospital’s logic is questionable.
KKM logic, ban food delivery like #Grab & #Foodpanda for staff and patients. Might as well ban eating so that there will be no waste produced.
Yg buat keputusan dah lupa kot rasa tengah oncall & rasa lapar, sebab tu buat keputusan mcm ni. pic.twitter.com/rPCICu6p2e
— HartalDoktorKontrak (@HKontrak) August 10, 2022
“Might as well ban eating so that there will be no waste produced. The ones who made this decision probably forgot how it feels to be oncall and hungry, that’s why they made this decision.”
The circular stated that the ban was decided on during a meeting with all heads of department on July 26.
According to the hospital, the directive came after numerous complaints were lodged over food waste and litter, apart from the presence of pests in hospital wards.
Some social media users criticized the institution for the blanket ban when it was the management that had neglected to handle the hospital’s trash disposal.
