MOH PREPARED TO AMEND ACT ON EMPLOYMENT OF HEALTH WORKERS

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 25 (Bernama) -- The Ministry of Health (MOH) is ready to support the proposal to amend the existing act relating to the employment of health workers as the Health Services Commission does not have the power to create new positions.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said the role falls under the jurisdiction of the Public Service Department (PSD) and the Ministry of Finance as explained in the act and financial regulations in force.

"The function of the commission as explained in the Federal Constitution does not provide for the creation of new positions... the main purpose of establishing the commission is still outside the commission's powers, that is a challenge that has to be faced

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"... this (Dewan Rakyat) is the place to draft and amend acts to align with current needs, if there are such constraints, I am confident that starting from the Special Select Committee on Health can present and advance this matter.

"I am of the view that this is a democratic process through the legislative branch that should be used ," he said when winding up the debate on the motion of thanks for the Royal Address on the Ministry of Health in the Dewan Rakyat today.

He said therefore, the Ministry of Health through the Rakan KKM initiative is implemented as an approach to improve practices in the private wing, namely the Full Paying Patient (FPP) Service Scheme .

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Dr Dzulkefly said the approach could increase staffing and increase the wage rates of health workers, as well as provide an opportunity for the Ministry of Health to retain specialists and doctors from moving to the private sector or abroad.

"If I have some power to improve matters regarding public health facilities with the results we have, it will improve matters related to them while also providing a challenge to the private sector through competitive benchmarks and prices.

"This also allows them (the private sector) not to charge high fees because we are able to provide affordable (health) facilities to customers," he said.

Regarding the issue of health worker transfers, he said a total of 6,919 health workers under the Ministry of Health were recorded to have resigned and transferred to the private sector between 2020 and last year.

He said this involved 1,856 permanent medical officers, followed by 3,846 contract medical officers and 1,217 medical specialists and this situation was due to the offer of greater benefits from the private sector.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health is targeting 3,200 contract medical officers to be absorbed into permanent positions this year in addition to the permanent appointment of 13,349 contract medical officers carried out between 2020 and 2024.

Dr Dzulkefly said the Ministry of Health trained 4,776 medical specialists in the same period, in addition to 900 specialists expected to be placed in health facilities.

"A total of 6,211 medical officers are also undergoing MOH specialist training, covering 5,519 officers in the Master of Medicine programme, while the Parallel Pathway programme involved 692 people as of January 31.

"The Ministry of Health is continuously implementing the placement of medical officers and medical specialists to areas in need, especially in Sabah and Sarawak, thus is able to address the issue of imbalanced distribution, especially in rural Sabah and Sarawak," he said.

-- BERNAMA