KUCHING - The large vacuum in the nursing profession in Sarawak is said to have been caused by a big number of nurses from Peninsular Malaysia who requested to be transferred to their hometowns after being posted in the state for a certain period of time.

Public Health Assistant Minister Dr Jerip Susil said due to this scenario, it would take time to fill the ensuing vacant positions. “We have communicated to the Federal Government (Health Ministry) on the need for us to have our own local nurses to serve in our hospitals,” he said in reports.

On the lack of trained nurses in Sarawak, Dr Jerip previously said it was not caused by shortage of trainees but rather the slow recruitment by Public Services Commission. He noted that Sarawak through both public and private training institutions had produced enough trained nurses to meet demands.

According to previous reports, there were about 1,200 posts for nurses that were not filled in the state two years ago. Now, about half of them have been filled after intensive interviews conducted by the Public Service Commission. The ratio between nurses and patients in the state now is about 1:400.

Jerip has recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a training collaboration between I-Systems College Kuching and Faculty of Health and Social Care, London South Bank University, which, according to the health official could help address the shortage of nurses in Sarawak as it should provide proper training facilities to students

Under the MoU, the two institutions have agreed to jointly explore models for various healthcare-related education development and also to develop opportunities for academic exchange and sharing of expertise in other areas.

I-Systems College chief executive officer Datuk John Tiong said the healthcare industry in the state was expected to see a positive growth due to the setting up of more hospitals.

He added that with these new facilities, it could provide ample job opportunities to nursing graduates.

source:mjn-e-news