Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi posing for photos with nurses at the state-level International Nurse’s Day celebration at Persada Johor Convention Centre, Johor Baru on Thursday (June 1). - THOMAS YONG/The Star
JOHOR BARU: Johor hopes to receive additional doctors, nurses and medical personnel from the Federal Government soon to address the shortage of such staff in the state, says Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi.
The Johor Mentri Besar said the state was currently facing a shortage of about 2,800 medical staff, which resulted in the overcrowding of public healthcare facilities especially at Hospital Sultanah Aminah (HSA) and Hospital Sultan Ismail (HSI) located here.
“HSA alone is short of about 200 doctors and it is the second busiest facility in the country after Hospital Kuala Lumpur.
“The hospital not only caters to those living in Johor but also receives patients from neighbouring Melaka, Pahang and Negri Sembilan.
“When I visited HSI on Wednesday (May 31), I noticed its paediatrics ward and emergency and trauma department were also packed with patients who had to wait up to six hours for their turn to receive treatment.
“At the same time, two wards at the hospital that are empty without beds and staff - if utilised well, the wards could fit a total of 108 beds so I appeal to Putrajaya and the Health Ministry to look into this for the benefit of the patients,” he said when attending the state-level International Nurse’s Day celebration at Persada Johor Convention Centre here on Thursday (June 1).
He added that the issues have been brought up to the federal government and that the vacancies should be filled in stages as he understood that there were procedures and limitations.
At the event, Onn Hafiz also expressed the state government’s appreciation for the healthcare workers and announced an allocation of RM200,000 for the benefit of more than 8,000 nurses in Johor.
