Free van service receives thumbs up from dialysis patients in Klang
KLANG: Dialysis patient, A. Janagi had to fork out RM20 a day as taxi fares to commute from her home in Taman Sentosa in Klang to a dialysis centre nearby for treatment.
Sometimes, the 65-year-old widow has to take the bus in the wee hours just to reach the dialysis centre on time for her appointment.
"But, now my burden has been reduced as we have a free van service which picks up dialysis patients at their door step in Klang with just a phone call.
"This van service helps people from the lower and middle income bracket who have problems getting transport to go for their medical appointment in the Klang area," she told Bernama.
The free van service was initiated by the Klang MIC division in 2015, and is now providing transport to 120 patients, with 70% of them dialysis patients from Klang, Kapar and Shah Alam.
A retired mechanical engineer, M. Subramaniam, 68, from Kampung Jawa, Klang , who is a dialysis patient, said the free van service was of great help for him to go for his medical appointment in the Klang area.
"I feel good to see Malaysians of all races benefiting from the free service," he said, adding that the van service helped to overcome the problems of patients with children who are working and could not send their parents for the medical appointment.
Subramaniam said he used the van service three times a week to go for his dialysis.
A retired policeman, Ong Thean Cheng, 78, said the free van service was something he and his wife, Ng Lai Tai, 75, was looking for and that he had been using the service for more than a year.
Meanwhile, Klang Bandar Bukit Tinggi MIC branch chief, M. Sashitharaan said the free van service was introduced, initially, for elderly patients who patronised government hospitals, but gradually expanded to include dialysis patients.
Van driver, K. Chandrasegaran, 35, who has been driving for the past two years, said he felt good to see Malaysians of all races benefiting from the van service.
The free van service operates daily from 5.30am and 10pm everyday. — Bernama