The National Heart Institute (IJN) has brushed off an allegation that it has stopped providing treatment to civil servants' spouse and parents, which went viral on Facebook and WhatsApp mobile application recently.

Instead, the institute said they were still providing service of all category of patients - be they employees, spouse, parents or dependents - based on their medical plan entitlement as set by their respective employers.

The posting, dated Aug 9 and allegedly issued by IJN or its staff, stated that IJN was no longer a government hospital and that the guarantee letter (GL) application procedures at the hospital were similar to other private hospitals. It also stated that employees' spouse and parents were no longer eligible for medical treatment at IJN.

"We would like to inform that Institut Jantung Negara Sdn Bhd is a corporate entity operating under the Finance Minister Incorporated. IJN is a government-owned private hospital since it was establishment in 1992.

"As a tertiary hospital, IJN receives all kinds of GL from all government agencies, be they from the federal, state or statutory bodies, as well as from private companies," the IJN said in a statement here on Thursday.

The statement also mentioned that patients who require treatments at the IJN using government or corporate GL, were advised to refer to agency/organisation/company's circulars or policies before hand in order to have a clear picture of the right procedures.

"This is because the medical plan or GL issued to the employees and/or their dependents are subjected to their entitlement as set by their respective employers," it said.

-- BERNAMA