Over 4 000 Contract Health Officers To Get Permanent Positions

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Health minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the latest number of permanent positions approved was the highest since the contract policy started in 2016. (Bernama pic)KUALA LUMPUR: The health ministry (MoH) has approved 4,053 out of 8,672 initial applications for permanent positions involving contract doctors, dental officers and pharmacists for this year, its minister Khairy Jamaluddin said.
He said it covers 3,215 doctors, 438 dentists and 400 pharmacists, while there were 225 candidates on the standby list.
“This is the highest number of additional permanent positions since the contract policy started in 2016.
“After this, we will have at least 1,500 permanent positions every year to be offered to contract officers,” he said at a press conference after appearing as a panel member at a dialogue session on The Future of Our Healthcare held in conjunction with the 2022 Health Policy Summit here.
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Khairy said the ministry would hold talks with the Public Services Commission (SPA) to determine whether those who were unsuccessful could re-apply for a permanent position.
“I do understand that some will be disappointed, and that is why MoH will look into the matter after our discussions with MMA (Malaysian Medical Association) on career options for those who could not be absorbed as permanent staff. This is to ensure that they are given good incentives and opportunities for specialised and sub-specialised training.”
Meanwhile, Khairy said MoH would also look at a suitable model to determine whether a health service commission should be established by law or administratively.
He said although the matter was not the main focus of the ministry at the moment, it would nevertheless be discussed in the Health White Paper which is expected to be tabled in Parliament at the end of the year.
“If you are to ask us (MoH), of course we would want our own commission so that we will not be subjected to regular SPA policies.
“An example would be that (currently) if we are to fight for certain allowances in MoH, we are subjected to policies under JPA (public services department), which means this policy must be in tandem with other (public) services.
“We (will) take one step at a time … We want our own commission but the question of when to push for this can be discussed during the drafting process of the Health White Paper,” he added. - FMT

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