KOTA KINABALU: Hospitals with critical staff shortages must be prioritised to receive medical officers who accept permanent positions offered to 9,000 contract doctors under Budget 2027.
State Assistant Women, Health and People's Wellbeing Minister Datuk Rina Jainal urged comprehensive planning to reduce the state’s acute doctor shortage.
“The data on workforce requirements and staff placements for every district hospital is already available, but filling vacancies remains a major challenge,” Rina told reporters after officiating the Sabah Pink Ribbon Pickleball Tournament in Tawau on Sunday (Oct 11).
“We must do our best because we do not want problems to arise in the future if this issue is not resolved comprehensively.”
She noted that the imbalance between the number of healthcare workers and patients was not unique to Sabah, as hospitals in Peninsular Malaysia were facing similar challenges.
Rina said although healthcare services are still able to meet current needs, efforts to address manpower shortages must continue to be strengthened to avoid bigger problems in the future.
She also welcomed the increased allocation RM47.7bil for the Health Ministry under Budget 2027, hoping that it would help strengthen healthcare facilities and services in Sabah and Sarawak.
She said advocating for the needs of the healthcare sector is also one of Sabah’s key priorities in realising the objectives of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
