KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry is committed to achieving a 1:400 doctor-to-population ratio in the country by 2025.
Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said the doctor-to-population ratio stood at 1:412 in 2022 compared to 1:758 in 2012.
"This ratio of 1:400 would include doctors under the ministry, the Higher Education Ministry, the private sector and others.
"We will continue to improve the ratio. In comparison, Singapore has a ratio of 1:270, the United Kingdom has 1:357, Australia has 1:270, Austria has 1:192, Thailand has 1:1,111 and Indonesia has 1:1,400," he told the Dewan Rakyat today.
Among the steps to achieve this goal was to increase the graduate training slots in the Health Ministry to 12,198 in 2024 for medical graduate training purposes, he said.
At the same time, Dr Dzulkefly said all parties needed to work together to attract students to pursue medical studies as the sector offered more attractive salaries, special allowances and opportunities to further their education under the Federal Training Award scheme.
"The Health Ministry is also in the final stages of refining several proposals related to the appointment and placement of Health Ministry personnel through the Human Resources reform programme, which would be announced in the near future," he added.
Datuk Seri Sh Mohmed Puzi Sh Ali (Barisan Nasional-Pekan) had asked Dr Dzulkefly about efforts to address the critical shortage of medical officers in the country.