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SHAH ALAM - A medical watchdog has raised concerns over the doctor-to-patient ratio as it differs in each state while the patient load is almost similar in trend, causing some states to be experiencing shortages.
Malaysian Medical Association president Dr Koh Kar Chai said they have proposed the health ministry and department of Statistics Malaysia to carry out a mapping exercise to chart actual trend in general and subspecialty cases in each state and plan the human resources accordingly.
"State health departments must plan around the allocations of junior medical officers (floaters). The workforce must not be centered on these temporary workers but planned with permanent allocations to the hospitals and departments.
"The issue of medical officers quitting is serious and must also be looked into as well because we are haemorrhaging human capital which is desperately needed," he said in a statement.
He added that while caring for the rakyat, doctors too need adequate rest. "If they are on call every other day, it will result in burnout," he said.