JOHOR BAHRU - Health Ministry has given an assurance to send more doctors and nurses to Johor which is experiencing a lack of medical staff, especially in the two main hospitals in the state, said Johor Health and Unity Committee chairman Ling Tian Soon.
He said the ministry announced this after its management paid visits to the Sultanah Aminah Hospital (HSA) and Sultan Ismail Hospital (HSI) yesterday.
He said Johor is facing a shortage of about 2,800 medical staff, especially doctors and nurses, and this caused operations of two wards at the HSI to be stopped completely.
"Discussions with the ministry were very positive...it will try to help Johor especially both these hospitals (HSA and HSI) to increase medical staff, especially from the aspect of doctors and nurses," he said at a press conference after attending the Johor Level International Nurses Day Celebration 2023 at the Persada International Convention Centre (Persada) Johor here today.
"The shortage problem also caused two wards at HSI to be unable to operate. Therefore, the Health Ministry assured Johor that it will help send enough doctors and nurses to ensure that the two wards can operate,” he added.
Also present to officiate at the event was Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi.
Meanwhile, Onn Hafiz said the state government is committed to solving this issue faced by public hospitals throughout Johor to ensure the well-being and health of the people in the state.
He said the issue was one of the legacy issues that he wanted to resolve besides congestion at the country's gateways as well as road repairs.
Yesterday, Onn Hafiz in a post on Facebook urged the federal government to assist in solving the medical staff shortage issue in Johor as soon as possible.
Earlier, in conjunction with the Johor Level International Nurses Day Celebration 2023, Onn Hafiz also announced an allocation amounting to RM200,000 to benefit more than 8,000 nurses in the state. - BERNAMA