Health minister tackles myth of housemen oversupply

INTERVIEW | The supposed oversupply of housemen has made headlines in recent years, but the fact is there isn't one, says Dzulkefly Ahmad. 

As the health minister explained, the problem lies with insufficient facilities to provide placements for all house officers.

"In our position, we are not able to sustain the influx of house officers due to facility constraints," he said in an interview.

"It is not that there are too many doctors, but a lack of facilities to support the housemanship programmes in 54 hospitals to train them."

In reality, Dzulkefly said, the country needs more doctors, as the Health Ministry is looking to bring the current ratio of one doctor for every 520 patients down to 450.

The minister said he is working to resolve the problem, despite the financial constraints the government is operating under.

In 2011, the Health Ministry imposed a five-year moratorium on new medical programmes to manage the influx of new medical graduates. This was extended for another five years in 2016.

Dzulkefly stressed that his ministry is looking at several initiatives to solve the decade-long problem and ensure that medical graduates can find permanent placements.

One such initiative, he said, is a pilot project involving virtual clinics, where doctors or medical assistants can have scheduled engagement with patients through teleconferencing.

"However, these are not overnight solutions, and require regulation and studies," he added.

Ultimately, Dzulkefly hopes the lift the moratorium once the country's finances improve, so that house officers can be provided with adequate training facilities.

"When the economy improves, I can tell you we can stop the moratorium on not engaging them.

"This all depends on finances. We want to move forward with upgrades to our facilities, but it depends on our financial capability," he said.

In the meantime, Dzulkefly said, the government must find innovative solutions.

"The private sector must also provide opportunities," he added. - Mkini