The Health Ministry will prioritise Sabah-born medical officers for placements within the state to help address the doctor-to-population ratio gap.
During a Dewan Rakyat session on Thursday (Nov 7), Deputy Health Minister Datuk Lukanisman Awang Sauni said the ministry will maintain various incentives to attract and retain healthcare workers, especially in rural and remote areas.
In response to a question from Kota Belud MP Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis on Sabah’s bed-to-population ratio, Lukanisman noted that the ratio of hospital beds per 1,000 residents has improved from 1.52 to 1.77, with plans to add 1,941 more government hospital beds by 2030.
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During a Dewan Rakyat session on Thursday (Nov 7), Deputy Health Minister Datuk Lukanisman Awang Sauni said the ministry will maintain various incentives to attract and retain healthcare workers, especially in rural and remote areas.
In response to a question from Kota Belud MP Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis on Sabah’s bed-to-population ratio, Lukanisman noted that the ratio of hospital beds per 1,000 residents has improved from 1.52 to 1.77, with plans to add 1,941 more government hospital beds by 2030.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Based on the latest data, the need for additional human resources in the health sector in Sabah
00:08is expected to increase by 2030.
00:13For the public sector, referring to the schedule of projects that will be completed in Sabah by 2030,
00:20the required workforce will increase from 4,516 people in 2023 to 6,526 people in 2030,
00:32with the need for an additional 2,010 people.
00:36For the private sector, the increase from 645 people in 2023 to 810 people in 2030
00:47with an additional 165 medical workers.
00:52Overall, the number of health workers required will increase from 5,161 people in 2023
01:03to 7,336 people in 2030, with an additional 2,687 people.
01:12The proportion of doctors to residents is also expected to see a positive increase
01:17from one doctor for every 697 residents in 2023
01:24to one doctor for every 571 residents in 2030.
01:31This shows that the addition of workers in the health sector in Sabah
01:36is important to support population growth and ensure better health care.
01:43For the strategies and initiatives that have been carried out to bring doctors closer,
01:50especially in Sabah, is by giving priority to Sabah-born medical workers
01:57to spread wisdom and wisdom to the people of Sabah.
02:01Second, by placing more medical workers, medical workers who have completed their specialist training
02:08and permanent medical workers and contracts to support medical and health services in Sabah.
02:14Try to fill in the positions of medical workers and medical professionals
02:18who are still empty in the Sabah health facilities.
02:21Facilitate requests to create additional positions of medical workers
02:26and medical professionals to the central agencies, especially for new facilities and high-end facilities.
02:33And also implement innovative approaches,
02:36i.e. combining professional services in certain facilities environments
02:41through the concept of Hospital Cluster and implementing the concept of Visiting Specialist
02:47with permission for medical professionals to deliver services to residents outside the city.
02:53Continue various incentives to attract and maintain special health services
02:59in urban and rural areas,
03:01including the ease of payment of incentives according to location and level of difficulty,
03:06regional tourism, and payment of location incentives for medical professionals
03:11and specialists in the health facilities in Sabah.
03:15Based on the reference, to answer the second question
03:19regarding the Bad-to-Total Population Ratio,
03:23the number of beds for every 1,000 residents of Sabah has increased from 1.52 to 1.77
03:31with an additional target of 1,941 government hospitals that will be ready by 2030.
03:41To calculate the BPI reduction, it also includes government beds, non-KKM, and private hospitals
03:49where 40 beds are provided by the Ministry of Defence.
03:54The Hospital University Malaysia Sabah project under the Ministry of Higher Education
03:59is now under construction and is expected to be ready by 2026.
04:03And also private bed reduction will increase by 5%
04:07based on the contribution of the private sector in Sabah in the past 5 years.
04:12Therefore, the realistic BPI target for Sabah at the end of RMK 13 is 1.77.
04:22That's all. Thank you.
04:37KPM, KPM, KPT, and maybe both governments
04:43so that we can find a formula to increase the number of students
04:48from Sabah and Sarawak who are taking medical courses.
04:53And my question is, how many doctors from Sabah under KPM are serving in Semenanjung?
05:00Secondly, is there any research done by the Ministry
05:05on the placement of new doctors in Sabah and Sarawak,
05:09especially on the challenges they are facing
05:12so that they don't stay here for too long?
05:17And what measures have been taken by KPM?
05:20I would also like to advise the Ministry as a non-medical person,
05:25if possible, don't just fill the vacancies of doctors in Sabah and Sarawak
05:31with doctors who have just finished their housemanship,
05:35especially in the rural areas.
05:37Just because there are not enough doctors,
05:39and just because they have just finished their housemanship,
05:42we keep placing them in hospitals, especially in the rural areas.
05:47I think at least for doctors who have 3 or 4 years of experience with IZIN,
05:54for the people of Sabah and Sarawak.
05:59And definitely, I agree with the increase of facilities,
06:02hospitals and health clinics,
06:04because if there is an increase in facilities, hospitals and health clinics,
06:08there will be more experts and more doctors
06:10who may have more experience being placed in hospitals and clinics.
06:15Thank you, Minister.
06:16Thank you, Honourable Mayor.
06:19I would like to raise an issue that is very, very important
06:23for Sabah, Sarawak, and especially the areas outside the big cities in Malaysia.
06:29The big challenge in Sabah, Kelap, Menjelang,
06:32and finally RMK 13 is that there are many new facilities that will be built
06:37and will also be ready,
06:39especially starting with the construction of the Tawau Hospital,
06:42which will start operations in 2025.
06:45And next, for the information of our colleagues in Borneo,
06:47especially in Sabah, hospitals such as PAPA, Buford Hospital,
06:51Kota Merudu Hospital, which is currently in the process of tender
06:55and also preliminary work.
06:57And the preliminary work process is also being carried out,
07:00such as in the Duchess of Cairns Hospital,
07:02and also the addition of new blocks for women and children.
07:08And this also involves the addition of beds up to 1,900 beds.
07:14And also, the big challenge in Sabah is the placement
07:19and also the filling of medical offices cannot reach the maximum or optimum amount.
07:28Why? Because we are still burdened with our poor facilities.
07:32Thank you to the Honorable Prime Minister
07:35who has increased the amount of funds from 150 million to 300 million
07:42in the coming years.
07:43And in this year alone, 21 villages and clinics have been demolished
07:48and we have rebuilt them with the addition of square feet
07:52to carry out the process in the health clinics.
07:59What is a major problem is the placement of staff in the quarters
08:06and also the location.
08:09And also, I would like to thank the families from Semenanjung
08:15who are willing to serve in Sabah and also in Sarawak
08:18and also sacrifice so that they are willing to go to Long Nebawan,
08:22go to Sepitang just to serve
08:25and also spend their time as medical workers.
08:28Nevertheless, there are also our medical workers
08:32who have been offered a permanent contract
08:36and have been offered a placement in Sabah
08:39to refuse the offer.
08:41It is not a large number,
08:43but the number is able to provide the best service from the KKM.
08:49And also, we will consider the suggestion from the Honorable Mayor of Belut
08:53to place the medical workers.
08:55And also, the training provided by the KKM
08:59has actually formed a good MO for the Honorable Mayor of Belut
09:05where after they have completed their MO and went to the MO,
09:09served in Sabah and when they move back to Semenanjung,
09:13usually these doctors are good doctors.
09:16We produce good doctors,
09:20but at the same time, we face the lack of these MOs.
09:24I hope that the doctors who are offered a permanent contract
09:29and placed in Sarawak to serve their country
09:33for at least two years in Sabah and Sarawak
09:36so that our people, the families of Sabah and Sarawak
09:41can get the service from the honorable doctors.
09:44That is my hope as the Minister of Health
09:47coming from Sarawak and Borneo
09:49and that is also the hope from the friends of Borneo.
09:53That's all. Thank you.
10:03For more information, visit www.fema.gov