G25 also notes that frustrated medical specialists in the public sector are not well rewarded, as the group calls for attractive career paths in the government health service.
Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa will be speaking at the University of Oxford in the UK on Jan 28 about the current state and future of the Malaysian health care system; she has yet to announce holding similar public discussions in Malaysia.
In 2021, PKR's Dr Zaliha Mustafa supported contract doctors' CodeBlackMY campaign and spoke passionately on medical brain drain, 5-day ED waits, and to "fight" for a bigger budget to retain doctors. Over a year later, she was appointed health minister.
I dream of the day when our health care system is optimally staffed at all levels and properly equipped. The day when staff nurses and AMOs are not forced to cover gruelling double 8-hour shifts every other day, because there is simply not enough manpower.
GE15 led to a new government, with the major coalitions having health and health care in their manifestos. Will there be substantial changes in health and health care management?
The traditional focus on the use of health care resources, instead of outcomes of health care, have contributed to a surge in health care costs, says a health economist.
2022 saw major health issues like medicine shortages, the tobacco bill, and MySejahtera, while chronic problems like overcrowded emergency departments, junior doctor bullying, and NCDs remain unresolved. Health care reform is a key question entering 2023.
Patients in private hospitals in Klang Valley, Penang, Melaka, and JB are waiting 6-8 hours or longer in the emergency room for beds in wards due to a nursing shortage; PHFSA 1998 prohibits private hospitals from opening up beds without sufficient nurses.
The Galen Centre moots health budgeting as a multi-year project with costing instead of annual allocations, besides including health spending in the higher education and defence ministries.