KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 8,653 medical specialists are serving under the Health Ministry as of March 31, says Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.
He said the ministry remains committed to ensuring continuity of specialist services nationwide and is addressing shortages.
"We have allocated up to 600 sponsored slots per year under the Health Ministry's Parallel Pathway Specialist Training Programme across 14 specialisations," he said.
"As of now, 7,452 medical officers are in specialist training via both the master's and parallel pathways," added Dzulkefly.
He said this in a written reply to Chong Zhe Min (Pakatan–Kampar).
Chong asked about actions to address specialist shortages in government hospitals and long-term plans.
Dzulkefly said Specialist Training Programme scholarships for contract medical officers began in the 2022/2023 session.
"To date, 340 contract medical officers are enrolled in specialist training," he said.
He said that his ministry and the Higher Education Ministry have increased Medical Specialist Master's Programme slots.
He said these rose from 1,100 to 1,600 across 23 specialisations from the 2023/2024 session.
"The ministry also offers about 400 HLP sponsored slots for subspecialty training or areas of interest," he said.
"So far, 1,241 medical specialists have been approved to undergo such training," added Dzulkefly.
He said retention measures include establishing the UD15 grade for medical specialists, and added that promotion opportunities to special or premier grades are being increased.
He said specialists may practise in the private sector outside normal hours to earn extra income.
"Specialists are also allowed one day of flexible hours per week for research or private service, subject to approval," he added.
