Health Ministry tackles Johor staff shortage with 35 nurses and RM771,600
The Malaysian Health Ministry is taking action to address the urgent staff shortage at health facilities in Johor by allocating 35 permanent staff nurses and other staff, including medical assistants. The allocation will also include various contract posts awaiting confirmation. This immediate solution is a collaboration between the Health Ministry and the central agency.
Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa stated that the ministry is committed to addressing the health worker shortage at its facilities to ensure the appropriate placement of health workers, including doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and others. Data updating and mapping are carried out to prevent misdistribution of staff and identify optimal needs and requirements for hospital and health clinic operations.
The decision to allocate additional medical staff came in response to the issue of insufficient medical assets and staff at two main hospitals under the ministry in Johor Baru. Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi recently made a surprise visit to the Sultan Ismail Hospital (HSI) and the Sultanah Aminah Hospital (HSA) in Johor Baru, addressing the closure of wards and operating rooms due to the lack of medical officers and nurses.
“In addition, an operating expenditure allocation warrant of RM634,916 has also been sent to the Johor Health Department for the acquisition of non-medical assets to meet the urgent needs of both HSI and HSA in Johor Baru,” Dr Zaliha added.
The Health Ministry has also approved a special allocation of US$187,000 for the purchase of medical and non-medical assets to enable the immediate opening of two wards, including bed sets, Defib With Pacing, Basic Dinamp, Vital Sign 4 Channel, ECG Machine, Portable X-Ray Viewer, and others.
Dr Zaliha expressed gratitude for the concern of all parties in ensuring the best health services are provided to the people. She highlighted the importance of a “whole of government and whole of society approach” as outlined in the White Paper on Health, which will be presented in Parliament.
On June 1, Onn Hafiz emphasised the issue of healthcare personnel shortage in Johor, stating that it must be effectively addressed to improve the quality of public health services. He reported a shortage of 2,800 healthcare professionals, including 680 nurses, resulting in overcrowding of patients at hospitals and health clinics. Onn Hafiz called on the Health Ministry to urgently expedite the process of addressing the shortage for both HSI and HSA.
