KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry is mapping services at primary healthcare facilities and studying workforce gaps to improve staff allocation amid concerns over shortages at health clinics.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said the exercise was part of the National Primary Healthcare Reform, which aims to strengthen access to and equity in healthcare services.
He also said services were maintained through the reallocation of existing resources and support from other clinics, particularly in providing medical officers.
“We acknowledge that the availability and adequacy of healthcare personnel, particularly medical officers, assistant medical officers and nurses, are among the key factors affecting service delivery capacity at health clinics.
“Currently, outpatient services at all health clinics are operating as usual, and no health clinics have been closed or experienced disruptions to outpatient services due to shortages of medical officers, assistant medical officers and nurses.
“However, certain procedures, such as fundoscopy, require advance scheduling due to a shortage of personnel with the necessary expertise,” he said in a written parliamentary reply on Wednesday (Oct 21).
He was responding to Kuala Kedah MP Dr Ahmad Fakhruddin Fakhrurazi, who asked to what extent the critical shortage of nursing staff and medical officers had contributed to operational disruptions and the temporary closure of some outpatient services at district health clinics.
Dzulkefly added that appointment slots had also been adjusted according to actual staffing capacity to ensure continuity and efficiency in service delivery.
He said temporary closures of health clinics were for upgrading or maintenance works, with services relocated to nearby health facilities in a planned manner to ensure public access to healthcare was not affected.
The ministry, he said, was also continuously monitoring staffing requirements and the filling of posts at health clinics to ensure primary healthcare services remained accessible to the public.
