PETALING JAYA: There are currently 14,000 vacancies for nurses in the public sector, says Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.
The Health Minister said that his ministry was taking concrete and long-term measures to address the problem.
This includes taking in nursing graduates from both public and private higher education institutions in stages, through the Public Service Department.
“The ministry’s trainers have also been doubled to 3,000 a year. Annual appointments have been increased from 800 to 1,000.
“12 new institutions have also applied to offer (nursing) diploma courses,” he said in a statement on Saturday (July 12).
Dr Dzulkefly issued this statement in response to criticism levelled against him as Health Minister.
He also said the moratorium on private nursing courses was lifted. It has been in place since 2010 and was only lifted in August last year.
Dzulkefly said entry requirements for nursing diploma programmes have been relaxed from five to three credits for applicants with Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia.
Nursing diploma programmes were also opened to Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia, Sijil Tinggi Agama Malaysia, Sijil Vokasional Malaysia, United Examination Certificate (UEC) and more.
As of June, he said there are currently 120,667 nurses across the public and private sectors nationwide.
As an interim measure, he said the private sector is also allowed to employ foreign-trained nurses at their facilities.
It is, however, only permitted under strict conditions.
“This, however, does not involve public facilities nor affect job opportunities for local nurses,” Dzulkefly said.
A total of 6,919 healthcare workers under the Health Ministry left for the private sector between 2020 and 2024. Of this total, 2,141 were nurses, comprising 1,754 permanent and 387 contract appointees.
If the current trajectory continues, the shortage of nurses is projected to reach almost 60% by 2030.
