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Severe shortage of doctors in Sabah
 KUALA LUMPUR, July
8, 2010: The Dewan Rakyat (parliament) was told that Sabah and Sarawak faces
a severe shortage of doctors due to lack of interest and the heavy workload
in the rural areas, Wednesday.
Deputy Health Minister Datuk Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin said the workload
for a doctor in Sabah and Sarawak was much higher than that in Kuala Lumpur
and Putrajaya because the doctor-patient ratio in the two states was one
doctor to more than 2,000 residents.
In Putrajaya, the ratio was one doctor to 328 residents, and in Kuala Lumpur
it was one doctor to 488 residents, she said when replying to a
supplementary question from Chong Chieng Jen (DAP-Bandar Kuching).
Rosnah said the ministry had taken measures to overcome the problem by
engaging doctors on a contract basis whether from within or outside the
country.
"We are also offering new contracts to retired doctors and cooperating with
the Ministry of Higher Education to churn out more medical graduates. These
efforts are in line with the national population target for 2015 where the
population is expected to increase to 31.5 million," she said. |
