MALAYSIA is facing a shortage of specialists, not doctors, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin told the Dewan Rakyat today.

“We are not facing a shortage of house officers but what we need now is specialists,” he said.

He said currently there are about 13,000 specialists in public healthcare and private practice.

“We will need 28,000 by the year 2030, which has led to waiting time to see a specialist. That is why we not only have to optimise the available resources now, but we also need a commitment from the Finance Ministry for us to train these doctors to fulfil these needs for the next 10 years,” he said.

He said the problem is set to increase with an aging population and higher incidence of non-communicable diseases.

“This will require more specialists, whom we will have to train from now,” he said, following a supplementary question from Rusnah Aluai (Tangga Batu-PH) on whether the long wait time at healthcare facilities was due to the shortage of doctors.

“If we have enough doctors, then why do patients have to wait for hours at hospitals and why does it take months and years to get specialist service?” she asked.

Khairy said many specialists have also left for the private sector as the emoluments there are better than those in the civil service.

“Even though we have increased the allowance for specialists in the civil service, we cannot match what they are getting in the private sector,” he said.

He said the Health Ministry has also given specialists the leeway to serve once a week at private health facilities, so they can make the extra income.

Aside from which, he said the government will also have to see how it can accommodate their needs to keep them in the civil service.

Khairy was answering a question by Abdul Latiff Abdul Rahman (Kuala Krai-PN) on what has prompted the resignations of doctors, including specialists.

On another note, Khairy said according to the Health Ministry’s registry, 948 specialists resigned between 2016 and June this year.

He added that 4,028 contract medical officers resigned during the same period. – September 15, 2021.