KOTA KINABALU: Calls are being made to return to the system of offering permanent positions to government doctors, including specialists.
Backbenchers Sabah chairman, Datuk Masiung Banah, who is Kuamut assemblyman, said contract appointment offers were only suitable for foreign-trained medical doctors recruited from abroad.
Masiung stressed that the country, especially Sabah and Sarawak, had almost reached the target ratio of one doctor for every 400 people.
He added that BIMB Securities Research analysts had predicted that Malaysia could face a shortage of more than 13,000 medical specialists by 2030.
“The problem of a shortage of medical doctors in this country has gone beyond a serious level.”
In this respect, Parti Warisan Health Bureau chief Istefan Koh said the state cannot continue relying on Putrajaya to resolve its doctor shortage crisis.
“Sabah has to take concrete steps of its own to attract and retain doctors.”
Koh, a former government doctor, said with only 47 out of 138 medical officers (34%) reportedly turning up for hospital postings in Sabah, the state government must move beyond monitoring the situation and take action.
He said while the appointment and placement of medical officers falls under federal jurisdiction, this should not prevent the state government from introducing additional incentives, housing support, relocation assistance and other measures within its own capacity.
“When our hospitals do not have enough doctors, the consequences are felt here by our doctors, our nurses and, most importantly, our patients.”
Meanwhile, Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) Sabah branch chairman Dr Brandon Patrick Senagang said the recent permanent placement exercise had resulted in a significant outflow of doctors from Sabah, as some returned to Peninsular Malaysia to take up their permanent posts there.
“While the Health Ministry has allocated permanent posting slots in Sabah to replace these outgoing doctors, unfortunately many doctors have not turned up to report for duty,” he said.
“Our data shows only up to 40% of the anticipated doctors have actually reported for duty.”
He said that this has caused a major reduction in the number of doctors in many departments all over Sabah.
“Our doctors on the ground have complained the situation is critical, and if it continues, many will be overworked and will quit.”
He said district hospitals were among the worst affected, as very few doctors had reported for duty.
