PUTRAJAYA - Health Minister Khairy Jamaludin said the ministry is currently working to resolve the issue of shortage of nurses and the status of their post in the country.
The issue, he said was the most common complaint he received during his visits at hospitals.
"Recently I went to the Tunku Azizah Hospital (HTA) with Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah. It was a modern and sophisticated hospital but it could not maximise its services as there were not enough nurses," he said.
Khairy said the ministry has expedited the approval of nurses to be sent to HTA and other hospitals in the country.
"I'll try my best. But I am a politician... you can choose to listen, but don't trust them," he jokingly said.
He said among the other issues the ministry was trying to resolve was the status of contract nurses which involved 3,469 people.
"The ministry is also looking into the the status of nurses holding a degree but has yet to achieve the U29 grade besides community nurses who have taken the Appointment Promotion (KPSL) course but have yet to be appointed to U29," he said in his speech during the International Nurses Day celebration, here, today.
He said nurses play an important role and were the backbone of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (Pick) which achieved fruitful results.
"They had to leave their families behind especially when the pandemic started.
"Our victory in facing the Covid-19 pandemic was because of them.
"As the minister in charge of Pick, as many as 98 per cent of adults were given the Covid-19 vaccine all from the hands of the nurses," he said.
Khairy said the role of nurses from treating Covid-19 patients to injecting vaccinations into the arms of millions of people was a great success.
"That's why today I hope the sacrifices of nurses will never be forgotten," he said.