Sabah gets more help | The Star

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah expects to improve its healthcare services to the people with an additional 474 medical workers transferred here.

State Health Department director Dr Asits Sanna said these medical officers were previously under contract and they have now been offered permanent positions.

“They are now Grade UD43 medical officers,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Out of this number, 339 have reported for duty at hospitals while the remaining 135 have reported for duty at the various health clinics statewide.

“A total of 103 medical officers who were based in this state have been transferred out to other states,” Dr Asits added.

“We hope with the additional staff, our healthcare system can improve and expand the scope of services,” he said while thanking the Health Ministry for its commitment in ensuring the number of medical staff in Sabah is at par with the requirements.

Dr Asits also took the opportunity to thank all medical officers and staff who have served in Sabah for their dedication and hard work, and urged those here to give their best when carrying out their duties.

“Let us move towards a better healthcare system for the people and provide the best quality of service to this state,” he added.

In June, the Health Ministry reported an oversupply of medical officers based on a study conducted.

In response, former Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Tan Sri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said that it was unfair to Sarawak and Sabah for the federal Health Ministry to make projections on the oversupply of medical practitioners given the reality of the healthcare situation on the ground.

He said that if one goes to rural hospitals in Sarawak and Sabah, there are still many district hospitals that are without specialists or even doctors.

He also said the ministry should not look at large private or government hospitals in Kuala Lumpur only and use it as a proxy for the whole country.

Wan Junaidi said the findings from the study were not representative of the true situation in Sarawak and Sabah as the healthcare facilities in these two states were less accessible compared to those in Peninsular Malaysia.