by HAJAR UMIRA MD ZAKI / pic BLOOMBERG

THE Ministry of Health (MoH) announced a new study to review the country’s actual needs for various categories of human resources for health.

Its minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa said the study is aimed at considering the impact of the new policies that were introduced after 2016 and the needs of people’s health.

“With this, the distribution and needs of health personnel for the entire country can be clearly mapped and projected.

“This study will also be an evidence-base towards the preparation of an implementation plan for the strategies in the Health White Paper.

“This long-term plan is to ensure that residents have access to better health services,” she said in a statement today.

The announcement is made after the MoH welcomes the statement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim yesterday for the government to continue the education sponsorship in medical, dental and pharmacy industries.

Previously, the Public Service Department (JPA) decided to put an end to the medical, dental and pharmacy industries as it was predicted there will be an oversupply on health officers starting 2026 until 2023.

Nevertheless, Dr Zaliha said the current situation was not as projected previously.

She said the health workforce predictions can be enhanced by incorporating post-2015 government policy changes, post-Covid-19 health demands, changes in disease burden, medical technology advancements, and service needs based on areas of competence in the public and private sectors.

“If there is a shortage of health workers, it has the potential to affect the quality of health services and create an excessive workload for existing health workers.

“Therefore, the Health Ministry places emphasis on holistic and strategic human resource planning to ensure that the supply of health workers is sufficient.

The issue of manpower shortages in MoH was highlighted several times this year as complaints over the crowding in emergency rooms of hospitals, as well as the lack of medical officers in health clinics all over the country.

The government previously vowed to find solutions for the lack of medical staff, especially nurses and doctors, especially in states like Johor, Kelantan and Kuala Lumpur.