Zaliha Ministry Continues Studying Brain Drain Among Healthcare Workers

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PARLIAMENT | Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa assured today that the ministry will continue to study ways to improve the public healthcare sector to retain its medical officers.
“We have to look at brain drain in detail because it’s difficult to determine the situation when there is (disparity in) wages, where it’s larger in the private sector.
“However, we will continue to study and review how we can improve the public (healthcare) system to attract their interest so that they stay in public facilities as opposed to private facilities,” she said.
Zaliha also pointed out another approach of working with the private sector to ensure that they are giving the best services to the rakyat and optimising the services between the public and private sectors.
She was responding to Tan Kok Wai (Pakatan Harapan-Cheras) who asked about the ministry’s approach to curbing brain drain which may result in a decline in the quality of public healthcare.
A lack of healthcare workers was one of the issues identified in the healthcare system during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In February, Deputy Health Minister Lukanisman Awang Sauni dismissed the issue of salaries being a reason medical officers and specialist doctors left public service to migrate overseas.
While he acknowledged there are better salaries and incentives for doctors overseas, he said the starting salaries of doctors in Malaysia are relatively better than other public sector jobs.
Separately, Zaliha announced that the government was establishing a technical working group to detail matters related to the establishment of the Health Reform Commission.
“In the current situation, we are implementing a governance structure and the formation of various committees that we call technical working groups.
"So about the Health Reform Commission, we are detailing it and we are also holding discussions with experts.
“Whether the name used remains the same or uses a different word is up to you. But the function is the same,” she said. - Mkini

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