A few years ago, Malaysia faced an oversupply of medical graduates. However, today, the public healthcare system is struggling with a shortage of doctors, particularly housemen.
Since 2019, the number of housemen at the Health Ministry (MOH) has decreased by 50 percent.
Data from the ministry’s Human Resources Division, as reported by The Star, shows a decline from 6,134 housemen in 2019 to 3,271 in 2023.
Healthcare experts caution that failure to address the personnel shortage will strain Malaysia’s public healthcare system, ultimately impacting citizens.
Dr. Muhammad Yassin, spokesperson for the rights group Hartal Doktor Kontrak, noted that the organisation had foreseen this shortfall as early as 2021.
He explained that globally, there’s a trend of younger generations showing less interest in science fields, resulting in fewer students pursuing medical education and subsequently fewer new medical graduates.
When contacted, he highlighted that “in Malaysia, this issue is compounded by problems with the contract system, which have persisted since 2016.”
Under the contract system, numerous Malaysian doctors have been limited to contractual positions provided by the government.
Consequently, these doctors receive substantially lower salaries compared to their predecessors and lack many of the benefits typically associated with civil service employment.
Dr. Muhammad Yassin emphasized that the manpower shortage has resulted in heightened burdens and mental stress for healthcare workers.
Moreover, it is expected to result in diminished quality of healthcare services and an increased risk of medical errors.
He also noted numerous reports of longer waiting times at medical facilities, warning that the situation will deteriorate further if left unaddressed.
Dr. Muhammad Yassin suggested that addressing the issue could be achieved by offering better pay, allowances, and benefits, particularly for professional development.
Dr. Azizan Abdul Aziz, president of the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA), highlighted that the surge in enrolment in medical schools during the late 1990s and early 2000s resulted in a higher number of medical graduates.
However, this increase led to a moratorium in 2011 on the number of students admitted to medical schools. Concurrently, the introduction of the contract system in 2016 discouraged overseas graduates from returning to Malaysia, exacerbating the situation.
She emphasised that the current scenario is a result of fewer individuals studying medicine from 2018 to 2019, coupled with graduates opting to remain abroad.
She also urged the Ministry of Health (MOH) to prioritise transparency by sharing comprehensive data on healthcare worker numbers categorised, thus enabling more effective healthcare human resource planning.
Emphasising the need for public access to this information through a dashboard, she noted that currently, only the government possesses this data.
Dr. Zainal Ariffin Omar, a retired MOH official and public health expert, expressed concern over the lack of definitive solutions for the ministry’s workforce challenges.
Stressing the urgency of action, he called for the immediate establishment of the Health Service Commission without further delay or discussions.
Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad stated on April 22, as reported by Free Malaysia Today (FMT), that the government is in the final stages of reviewing the proposal to establish the Health Service Commission.
Last year, then-health minister Dr. Zaliha Mustafa indicated that the details regarding the commission’s formation were being finalized to address issues in healthcare service schemes, particularly for healthcare professionals.
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