In the first quarter of the year, members of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) accessed healthcare services more than 10,000 times per day, a 30 per cent increase, according to a senior NSSF official.

The figures were revealed during a meeting on improving the efficiency of the services provided by the NSSF’s private healthcare partners across the country last week.

During the meeting, attended by about 200 representatives of the NSSF’s private hospital partners, NSSF deputy director Meng Hong noted the significant uptake in services.

“In the first three months of the year, NSSF members obtained treatment and healthcare more than one million times. This is a 30 per cent increase on the same period in 2022,” he said.

Hong added that in order to meet member’s needs more effectively, the NSSF has been examining the possibility of expanding the scope of its agreements with healthcare facilities, particularly private ones.

“As our membership grows, we need to ensure that medical facilities are conveniently located for all of them. There are some issues where local health providers are not fully cooperating with the NSSF, and the services available to our members remain limited,” he cautioned.

Ath Thorn, president of the Cambodian Labour Confederation (CLC), expressed his appreciation for the NSSF’s efforts to increase services, but urged the institution to pay close attention to widening access to all services.

“It is good news that NSSF members are accessing more and more medical treatment, as in the past it was limited and often didn’t respond to their needs,” he said.

The NSSF has signed agreements with a total of 1,509 health facilities nationwide, 134 of them privately owned.