KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry (MoH) will recommend absorbing contract dental and pharmacy officers into permanent positions for the consideration Finance Ministry and the cabinet.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said the proposal would be pursued within a reasonable timeframe, based on the approach previously used to address the issue of contract medical doctors.
"...the first step will be followed by other service schemes, namely dentists and pharmacists as well," he said when met after appearing as a guest on Bernama TV's Ruang Bicara programme titled 'Realising Budget 2027 With the Health Minister'.
He said the recruitment of dental and pharmacy officers into permanent positions would utilise a new quota separate from the 9,000 permanent medical doctor positions announced under the 2027 Budget.
The Malaysian Dental Association (MDA) previously have urged the government and MoH to consider permanent appointments for contract dental officers, following the announcement of permanent appointments for medical doctors.
Commenting on reports regarding dental officers whose contracts ended without being renewed, Dzulkefly said MoH would continue to pay attention to their welfare and work experience within the public healthcare system.
In another development, Dzulkefly expressed hope that MoF would consider a request for an initial allocation of about RM100 million to strengthen the management of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) at the primary healthcare level.
He said the allocation was crucial to enhance prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, and continuous control of chronic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
"Matters related to NCD management are a major component that I am bringing into the reforms. In addition to PeKa B40, which received an allocation of RM80 million, managing NCDs from a healthcare perspective is essential to effectively address this chronic disease pandemic.
"It encompasses not only first-stage screening, but also continuous diagnosis, treatment, and control for conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure," he said.
He added that the ministry's benchmarking of per capita spending on NCD management took into account practices in countries such as Singapore and Indonesia, as well as global trends prioritising primary healthcare services.
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