KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 705 medical officers and 1,394 nurses resigned between 2022 and 2024 after serving for more than five years, says Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.
Dr Dzulkefly stated that the primary reasons for these resignations include pursuing opportunities in the private sector or statutory bodies, as well as personal and health-related issues.
Despite these departures, the Health Ministry successfully appointed 12,761 new medical officers and 5,396 nurses during the same period to fill permanent positions.
He said that the government remains committed to reinforcing the public healthcare system through ongoing efforts to enhance skills, readiness, and workforce mobility.
Dr Dzulkefly said that his ministry has implemented several initiatives to retain talent and mitigate the outflow of experienced healthcare personnel.
These include exemptions from interim contract appointments for nurses by central agencies for 2023 and 2024, with potential for permanent appointments in 2025.
In a written reply to Tan Kar Hing (Pakatan-Gopeng), Dr Dzulkefly noted that shift hours for medical officers in Emergency Departments and ward nurses have been reduced from 45 to 42 hours per week.
He added that his ministry has also introduced specific allowances and incentives, such as the Locum Allowance, Specialist Incentive Payment, Post-Basic Allowance, and Location and Hardship Incentives.
Dr Dzulkefly then said that incentive payments are offered to pre-gazettement medical officers undergoing supervised work experience (SWE) in recognition of their workload and specialist commitments.
Additionally, faster career progression is another focus, with time-based promotions from Grade UD9 to UD14 achievable within nine to twelve years for medical officers. Paramedics are also eligible for Time-Based Excellence (TBK 1 and TBK 2) promotions after thirteen years of service.
He said that the Health Ministry emphasised its ongoing commitment to enhancing benefits and incentives for its medical workforce to ensure their retention.
These efforts also aim to strengthen human resource management across existing, upgraded, and newly built facilities, thereby providing the best possible healthcare services to the public.
