The doctor to patient ratio for this year in Malaysia stands at 1:1,236, revealed Health Ministry parliamentary secretary Lee Kah Choon today.

Until August 31, he said the ministry had 1,695 specialists and 6,885 general doctors working in hospitals in both urban and rural areas nationwide.

According to Bernama , Lee was responding to Mohamad Aziz (BN-Sri Gading) who asked for the ratio in the Dewan Rakyat.

From this figure, 207 specialists and general doctors work at the ministry's headquarters, Perlis (112), Kedah (533), Pulau Pinang (551), Perak (957), Selangor (1170), Negeri Sembilan (496), Melaka (304), Johor (599), Pahang (484), Terengganu (335), Kelantan (438), Sabah (675), Sarawak (618), Hospital Kuala Lumpur (798) dan Federal Territory Kuala Lumpur (167).

A doctor with Hospital Kuala Lumpur told malaysiakini that the ratio 'may or may not' be alarming when compared to other countries.

"But keep in mind that the ratio reflects the general distribution of doctors throughout the country in relation to the general population.

"It says nothing of the distribution of doctors in the rural areas compared to the number of doctors in the big towns and cities," added Dr Kamarul Azahar Mohd Razali from the Institute of paediatrics.

Private hospitals

According to him, the ratio of doctors in rural areas, even between West Malaysia and East Malaysia, compared to the number in urban areas, was a bigger cause for alarm.

"Bear in mind, again, that many of the doctors working in Sabah and Sarawak are West Malaysians," he noted.

Kamarul said the other factor which must be taken into consideration is the fact that only 49 percent of doctors are serving in government health centres and hospitals. The remaining 51 percent are working in the private sector.

He said there were even district hospitals that do not have specialists.

"Such a general indication of how many doctors there are in the country to the population may or may not be alarming compared to other countries.

"But when you take these other two factors into consideration, then you get a different picture altogether," he added.