LETTER | Govt urged to tackle chronic shortage of doctors, MOs in public hospitals

LETTER | The government must urgently address the chronic shortage of doctors, medical officers (MOs), and specialists in government hospitals, which is placing increasing pressure on Malaysia’s public healthcare system and, ultimately, affecting patients.

Malaysia’s public healthcare system continues to face serious manpower challenges, compounded by an inadequate number of specialists and significant geographical maldistribution.

These shortages are contributing to excessive workloads for existing MOs and healthcare workers, longer patient waiting times, burnout, and difficulties in providing timely specialist treatment.

This has been a pressing issue for many years, yet a permanent and comprehensive solution remains necessary. Delays in addressing the problem will not only affect patients but also place an unsustainable burden on doctors, MOs, nurses, and other healthcare personnel.

The government must not delay when it comes to healthcare. Providing quality, efficient, and timely healthcare is a fundamental responsibility of any government. Malaysians should not have to endure excessively long waiting times simply because government hospitals lack sufficient manpower.

The shortage of MOs and specialists in government hospitals is becoming increasingly serious. Healthcare associations have previously warned of critical shortages of doctors, specialists, and nurses across public healthcare facilities, with particularly serious challenges in Sabah and Sarawak.

These shortages have contributed to longer waiting times for consultations, treatment, and surgery, while healthcare workers are required to work excessive hours and multiple shifts.

Patients and doctors bear the burden

The situation on the ground is deeply concerning. In July 2025, reports highlighted cases where doctors in understaffed facilities were seeing between 80 and 100 patients a day, while some patients faced waiting times of up to six hours.

More recently, the seriousness of the problem was highlighted at a cancer treatment centre, where a doctor reported that the facility requires 45 to 50 MOs but has only about half that number available.

On some days, just four MOs were reportedly seeing up to 90 patients at the centre’s day-care facility.

This is extremely worrying, particularly as Malaysia faces a growing cancer burden and patients require timely diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up care.

PPP continues to receive complaints and appeals from members of the public experiencing delays in obtaining treatment at government healthcare facilities.

While every case must be assessed individually, the wider manpower shortage is clearly one of the factors contributing to excessive waiting times and pressure on the system.

We must also remember that doctors and MOs are human beings. If they are continuously required to work under excessive pressure, long hours, and understaffed conditions, their physical and mental well-being will inevitably be affected.

Permanent solution needed

A healthcare system cannot remain healthy if the healthcare workers keeping it running are themselves exhausted and burnt out.

The government must therefore take immediate and decisive action, including:

• Accelerating the abolition of the contract system for doctors and MOs and providing sufficient permanent positions

• Immediately identifying and filling vacant MO and specialist positions

• Increasing specialist training capacity so Malaysia can build a sufficient pool of specialists to meet growing healthcare needs

• Addressing the geographical maldistribution of doctors, particularly the serious manpower challenges faced by Sabah and Sarawak

• Publishing updated manpower data showing the number of approved posts, filled positions, and vacancies for doctors, MOs, specialists, nurses, and other critical healthcare personnel in government hospitals.

A strong public healthcare system begins with sufficient healthcare workers. The time for another temporary solution has passed. Malaysia needs a permanent, properly funded, and sustainable solution to its healthcare manpower crisis.

The author is president of PPP Malaysia.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.

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