SHAH ALAM, Jan 7 — Along bustling corridors, in wards filled with the scent of antiseptic and tense consultation rooms, beyond frail-looking patients and family members rushing to complete procedures, there exists a group of low-profile yet indispensable individuals.
They assist with registration, collect medication, accompany patients to consultations, relay doctors’ explanations, and in critical moments, act as key communicators on behalf of patients.
They are neither healthcare professionals nor family members, but a new role that has quietly emerged with the ageing population: medical escorts.
As demographic structures shift rapidly and family caregiving pressures intensify, medical escorts are becoming a vital force in closing care gaps, ensuring patients are appropriately treated and accompanied with dignity during their most vulnerable moments.
Sandwich generation under pressure, demand for medical escorts continues to rise
Yee Sook Ping, who has 16 years of experience operating nursing homes and also works as a medical escort, frequently travels between care centres and major hospitals.
She noted that medical escort services have long been established overseas, with Taiwan in particular offering comprehensive professional training systems to develop well-regulated and qualified escorts.
In contrast, Malaysia’s medical escort industry remains in its early stages, with low public awareness.
“At present, our services are mainly concentrated in the Klang Valley, and there are very few teams providing full-time, systematic medical escort services. Instead, there are more part-time medical escorts, many of whom are foreigners," Yee told Media Selangor.
She admitted that while foreign medical escorts may not face major challenges in English communication or navigating medical procedures, language and cultural differences often make it difficult for them to build deeper connections with elderly patients, which can affect the quality of care.
However, once doctors became aware of local medical escort services, most responded positively, with some even requesting her business card to refer families unable to accompany their parents to follow-up appointments due to work commitments.
More than medical appointments — a one-stop care service
Yee added that as Malaysia officially enters an ageing society, combined with the growing trend of late marriage and delayed childbearing, middle-aged individuals increasingly face the 'sandwich generation' pressure of caring for both elderly parents and young children. As a result, demand for medical escort services will only continue to grow.
"When both elderly parents and children require care at home, it is often the elderly who are overlooked. The emergence of medical escorts helps fill this long-neglected care gap," she said.
Yee said that her initial involvement in escorting patients stemmed from her role in managing a nursing home, which required frequent accompaniment of residents to medical appointments.
Over the past year, demand surged significantly, prompting her to expand services beyond nursing homes and formally enter the medical escort industry.
She stressed that medical escort services go far beyond simply “accompanying someone to the hospital”, but instead involve a structured and comprehensive care process.
“From transportation, registration, consultations, examinations and medication collection, to post-visit follow-ups at home, we provide a one-stop service," Yee said.
In addition to basic escort services, her organisation also offers care management services, including monitoring patients’ health conditions, sorting and checking medications, reminding patients to take their medications and attend follow-up appointments, installing emergency alert buttons, and providing meals and daily care.
Before appointments, medical escorts also gather information from family members about the patient’s recent condition, such as whether they have fallen or experienced discomfort, enabling them to provide doctors with a complete overview and assist in accurate diagnosis.
Elderly and those living alone form main client group
The loss of work ability, declining physical health and children being unable to spare time due to work and family commitments have made elderly individuals the primary recipients of medical escort services.
Yee said that approximately 70 per cent of her clients are elderly, 20 per cent are individuals living alone, and the remaining 10 per cent are foreigners. This includes elderly individuals whose children work overseas, as well as single individuals without a support system.
“Many elderly people simply need someone to accompany them for follow-up visits, but struggle because no one is able to take time off work. That is precisely why we exist," she said.
Full accompaniment and follow-up care not only reduce the risk of accidents among elderly individuals living alone going unnoticed, but also help ease their anxiety.
“From transportation to the hospital and all the way back home, every step involves someone caring for both their physical and emotional needs. This allows elderly individuals to feel cared for and respected," Yee said.
Regarding fees, she explained that basic medical escort services are billed by the hour, at RM200 for four hours. Services that include care management are charged at RM250, while transport fees are calculated separately based on distance.
Coming up next:
The work of medical escorts extends beyond accompanying patients to medical appointments and providing daily care; they must also deal with family members refusing treatment, social misunderstandings, and even take on crucial communication and coordination roles in life-or-death situations.
In the next article, we will delve deeper into the less-seen side of medical escorts, exploring how they navigate misunderstandings and life-or-death decisions while assuming multiple roles at critical moments.
