KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 13,072 doctor posts in the Health Ministry were vacant as of June 30, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said.
Of the vacancies, 1,660 were for specialist medical officers, while the remaining 11,412 were for non-specialist medical officers.
Meanwhile, Dzulkefly said the Health Ministry recorded 3,510 resignations among permanent and contract medical officers between 2024 and 2026.
Of the total, 1,252 were permanent medical officers, while the remaining 2,258 were contract medical officers.
He said the ministry also recorded eight medical specialists who resigned or migrated overseas.
He added the resignations were out of a total of 14,064 medical officers appointed on a permanent basis and 9,847 on a contract basis by the ministry during the period.
Based on ministry records, Dzulkefly said the main reason for resignations was employment in the private sector, accounting for 51.4 per cent of cases.
"Personal reasons accounted for 36.8 per cent, followed by service with statutory bodies (4.5 per cent), working or residing overseas (2.9 per cent), health problems (2.6 per cent), furthering studies (1.5 per cent) and opening their own clinics (0.3 per cent)," he said in a written parliamentary reply to a question from V Ganabatirau (PH-Klang).
Ganabatirau had sought information on doctors resigning or migrating overseas, vacancies, specialist shortages, waiting times for housemanship placements and the effectiveness of measures to retain doctors.
Among the immediate measures to address the issue, he said a task force established by the Public Service Department in April was examining staffing issues.
"The ministry had also been given greater authority to manage and distribute approved positions to expedite recruitment."
In a separate development, Dzulkefly said six government hospitals had met the target of treating at least 70 per cent of non-emergency patients within two hours, compared with previous average waiting times of between four and six hours.
In a reply to Datuk Dr Zulkafperi Hanapi (Ind-Tanjong Karang), he said Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital in Ipoh recorded the highest performance, with 98.61 per cent of patients in the green zone receiving treatment within the two-hour target.
Ampang Hospital ranked second at 88.78 per cent, followed by Selayang Hospital at 74.1 per cent, Sultanah Aminah Hospital in Johor Baru at 73.2 per cent, Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang at 72.2 per cent and Kuala Lumpur Hospital at 71.8 per cent.
"Patient attendance at the six major hospitals also fell by nine per cent after selected government health clinics extended their operating hours," Dzulkefly said.
He said the clinics now operate until 9pm on weekdays and from 8am to 1pm on weekends and public holidays.
"This measure to divert minor cases to health clinics has demonstrated an immediate impact, recording a reduction in physical patient attendance," he said.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd