By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Oct 7: Out of the 542 medical officers allocated to Sarawak by the Ministry of Health (MoH), 293—or 54 per cent— failed to report for duty on Oct 1, leaving more than half of the offered posts unfilled and compounding existing staffing pressures at the state’s major hospitals.
Public Health, Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian said the situation has worsened Sarawak’s struggle to overcome its chronic shortage of medical personnel, according to a report by TVS.
“This adds to our challenge in tackling the manpower shortage in hospitals across Sarawak,” he said after officiating the World Osteoporosis Day 2025 Open Day celebration today.
Dr Sim who is also Deputy Premier revealed that Sarawak had actually requested 650 new doctors as there are still 1,100 vacancies, but the number received was far below what was needed.
“As a result, existing doctors are forced to shoulder double workloads, for instance in Bintulu Hospital, only 80 doctors are currently serving compared to the 150 positions that should be filled,” he explained.
Dr Sim added that Sarawak still faces a shortage of about 2,500 doctors to meet the State’s actual healthcare needs based on the national doctor-to-population ratio.
He further stated Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof has agreed to chair a special meeting with the relevant ministries to discuss the shortage of healthcare officers and resource allocation in Sarawak. — DayakDaily
