The now shuttered Songhak Marina Maternity and Treatment Clinic in Takeo province. FB
The Ministry of Health has issued a directive to provincial and capital authorities, urging them to tighten regulations on private healthcare services and practitioners in their respective areas. Authorities are instructed to immediately shut down any unlicensed private healthcare facilities operating within their jurisdictions.
The announcement comes after a tragic incident in Takeo province, where a private clinic administered medication that caused a fatal reaction in a patient. Following the death, the clinic owners disposed of the bodies of the patient and her three-year-old niece in bushes along a deserted roadside, sparking widespread public outrage.
In a letter circulated on November 24, Mey Sambor, permanent secretary of state at the ministry, underscored that the management of healthcare services has been under the jurisdiction of provincial and capital administrations since December 2019, in line with the principles of decentralisation and deconcentration.
The ministry called on governors to conduct thorough inspections of all private healthcare facilities within their jurisdictions, ensuring compliance with licencing requirements, professional certifications, technical standards and proper documentation for patient treatment.
Authorities have been instructed to shut down any private healthcare facilities or pharmacies operating without proper authorisation. They are also required to verify the quality and storage of pharmaceuticals to ensure compliance with regulatory standards.
"Provincial and capital governors must submit progress reports on private healthcare inspections to the Ministry of Health by December 30 and provide quarterly updates thereafter," the ministry stated.
Additionally, the ministry encouraged local authorities to raise public awareness about the risks of receiving treatment from unlicensed private healthcare providers. The public was also urged to report any suspicious or illegal healthcare practices to the relevant authorities.
In September, health minister Chheang Ra announced that the ministry had intensified inspections of private healthcare facilities, leading to the closure of dozens of unlicensed clinics within the first year of the new government’s administration.
Nut Sambath, president of the Institute of Medicine, Biology and Agriculture at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, commended the ministry’s efforts to improve the quality of healthcare under the current administration.
"The ministry has deployed specialists and secretaries of state to enhance healthcare services at the grassroots level, extending beyond the district level. However, gaps still exist that allow some clinics to operate without proper licencing," he said. "This issue must be addressed, as all regulatory authority falls under the national-level jurisdiction of the One-Window Service Office [OWSO].”
