Malaysia's Health Ministry said on Tuesday it will keep healthcare services running without disruption despite a proposed 10% budget cut and a RM5.4 billion reduction in operating spending that affects the health and higher education sectors. [1]
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad gave the assurance at the opening of the Sandakan Wellness Hub in Sabah. He said the ministry will submit a counter-proposal and that savings must not hit patient care, medicine supply or medical devices. “Any cost-saving measures should not involve critical areas such as patient care, medicine supply and medical requirements,” he said. [1]
Dzulkefly said the ministry will protect essential services, including the supply of medicines and medical equipment, even as it responds to the proposed cuts. He said cost-saving measures should not affect the front line of care. [1]
The minister also pointed to a wider staffing problem and said a special inter-ministerial task force had been set up to deal with shortages of doctors and specialists, especially in Sabah and Sarawak. He said the uneven spread of doctors across the country requires coordination among several ministries and agencies. [1]
In Sabah, 42 new graduate medical officers were placed at Duchess of Kent Hospital in Sandakan, and 70% of them are Sabahans. Dzulkefly said the ministry wants to keep expanding that pipeline because attracting medical officers to the state remains difficult. “I want to see this effort continue to be expanded because we know the challenge of attracting medical officers to work in Sabah is quite big,” he said. [1]
State health data put Sabah's doctor count at 2,884, far short of an estimated need for 9,000. Dzulkefly said the ministry is strengthening specialist training routes and local master's programmes to boost the supply of specialists. [1]
He also said the ministry aims to keep offering permanent posts to contract doctors to improve retention. [1]
