Health Ministry wants JPA to increase posts in medical services

SERIAN (Sarawak), July 26 (Bernama) -- The Ministry of Health (MOH) wants the Public Service Department (JPA) to increase the number of posts in the medical services due to the expansion of public health facilities nationwide.

Deputy Minister Dr Lee Boon Chye said that although there is a moratorium on new intakes in the civil service overall, the medical services are an essential service.

"We want to convince JPA to increase the number of staff posts so that we have more intake of doctors and nurses in the years to come," he told reporters after officiating at the ground-breaking for the Siburan Health Clinic near here today.

The RM28.7-million clinic, to be completed in December 2021, is a Type 3 facility, meaning it has the capacity to handle 500 patients per day. The existing clinic, which started operating in 1964, serves up to 300 patients a day.

Dr Lee said it is also very important for the state and federal governments to have close cooperation on health services, with the federal government implementing a series of projects statewide in the next two to three years.  

In the pipeline is the construction of urban clinics in Tabuan Jaya, Kuching; Serian; Daro and Miri which are scheduled to commence this year, he said.

The construction of two delayed projects, involving the Sri Aman Hospital and Petra Jaya Hospital, will also resume this year after new contractors are appointed, he said.

Meanwhile, Puncak Borneo MP Willie Mongin said the long-awaited outpatient health clinic would bring great relief to the local community in Siburan and the surrounding areas.

The existing clinic serves some 46,686 people in Siburan, he said.

At present, the nearest outpatient clinic is in Kota Sentosa, 16 km away, while the Sarawak General Hospital in Kuching is 26 km away.

-- BERNAMA