374 govt medical specialist posts still vacant

A total of 374 medical specialist posts are still vacant compared to 4,868 posts created to date, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.

Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya said as at Oct 31, 92.3 per cent or 4,494 posts had been filled.

He said the ministry was increasing the number of medical specialists through the sponsorship of Master's specialist programmes or by increasing the offer of federal postgraduate training from 800 to 1,000 officers annually starting last year.

If necessary, he said the ministry also reappointed medical specialists whose contract had expired or when they had to go on mandatory retirement.

"To further improve the service of specialists in Sabah and Sarawak, the ministry has extended the posting of medical specialists from the minimum six months to one year," he said.

He was replying to a question by Datuk Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah (BN- Lenggong) on the data of medical graduates from 2010 to this year as well as the measures taken by the ministry to overcome the shortage of specialists.

A total of 26,300 students who took medical degree courses had been offered to serve the government from 2010 to Sept 2016, he added. - BERNAMA