THE Health Ministry will conduct a fresh study this year on the health sector’s human resource needs, its minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa said.

She said the study would take into account the impact of policies introduced after 2016 and the healthcare needs of the population.

“With this, the distribution and requirement of health personnel nationwide can be clearly mapped and projected,” she said in a statement today.

The ministry would continue to discuss with the Public Service Department (PSD) to ensure that the health policies and plans prepared are in line with the needs of the people, she said.

“The long-term plan is to ensure that the people have access to better health services,” she said.

On PSD’s decision to stop sponsoring students pursuing studies in medicine, dentistry and pharmacy, Zaliha said this was based on the previous policy made in accordance with the findings of the Supply and Needs-Based Requirement Projections of Malaysian Human Resources for Health Using System Dynamics Approach 2016-2030 study conducted by the ministry.

She said the study showed that there would be an oversupply of medical officers from 2026 to 2030.

However, she said, the study was based on data from 2008 to 2015 and did not reflect the current situation.

The health workforce projections can be improved by taking into account changes in government policies after 2015, post-Covid-19 health needs, changes in the burden of disease, medical technological developments and the need for services according to areas of expertise in the public and private sectors, she said.

Zaliha said effective health workforce planning should take into account the dynamic health needs due to population growth, ageing society, increasing disease burden and preparedness for health disasters.

“If there is a shortage of health workers, it can affect the quality of health services and lead to excessive workload for existing health workers,” she said.

Therefore, she said, the ministry emphasised holistic and strategic human resource planning to ensure sufficient supply of health workers.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced that PSD would continue to offer scholarships for students pursuing medicine, dentistry and pharmacy. – Bernama, June 13, 2023.