4,186 permanent posts created for health workers, Khairy says
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THE cabinet has agreed to create 4,186 permanent placements for doctors, dentists and pharmacists, said Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
Of the total, 3,586 are allocated for medical doctors, 300 for dentists and 300 for pharmacists.
Khairy said more permanent placements will be created for the next two years from next year.
“The cabinet has agreed to create 1,500 permanent posts for doctors, dentists and pharmacists from the year 2023 to 2025,” he said at a press conference held via Zoom today.
“It has agreed for the creation of 800 permanent posts for doctors and 70 for dentists a year from next year, to address the need for personnel at healthcare facilities.”
With the new permanent placements, 8,686 permanent posts will be available for doctors, dentists and pharmacists from 2022 to 2025, he added.
From 2016 to 2021, he said, only 1,118 doctors, 1,019 dentists and 1,288 pharmacists were absorbed into permanent service.
“The cabinet has also agreed to come up with a roadmap alongside relevant ministries for short-, medium- and long-term solutions with regard to the placement of contract workers.”
The roadmap involves the setting up of a technical group to optimise the capacity for permanent placements, control the quality of graduates, evaluate and update Schedule 2 of the Medical Act 1971, implement a professional qualification exam to determine the competency and quality of graduates, and strengthen the national specialist programme.
Khairy said Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and the Finance Ministry support the new permanent placement plan.
“I have informed the cabinet that it is not only about contract doctors, but the needs of the healthcare system. If we do not give them a security of tenure, they will leave the service.”
The contract medical officers’ plight is an ongoing issue, with doctors staging protests last year, demanding that they be offered full-time employment at the end of their contract. – February 10, 2022.