KUCHING: The government is hoping the Health Ministry will consider placing all Sarawakian medical graduates at its training hospitals here, so they can be trained and fill up doctor vacancies at district hospitals and clinics throughout the state.

Assistant Public Health Minister Datuk Dr JeripSusil said the Health Ministry is mulling to introduce a policy whereby medical graduates need to apply to be based at any training hospital throughout the country depending on vacancies.

He hopes the state will be given an exemption to such ruling so that all Sarawakian graduates, whether from public or private colleges including those from overseas, will automatically be absorbed to do their housemanship at training hospitals here, provided they wish to serve in the country.

Dr Jerip, who is also Bengoh assemblyman, added that the state would have ample vacancies for medical graduates to do their housemanship. The state already has three training hospitals; namely Sarawak General Hospital (SGH), in Miri and Sibu. In addition, Sarikei Hospital is currently being upgraded to become a training hospital beginning next year.

“The state will have four training hospitals next year. The SGH Heart Centre in Kota Samarahan would also be upgraded to provide training facilities.

“The building of a new hospital at Petra Jaya added with the proposed Unimas (Universiti Malaysia Sarawak) training hospital would ensure the state can provide ample vacancies for medical graduates.

“All those trained as houseman here should be roped in to man district hospitals and clinics throughout the state, particularly in the rural areas,” he told The Borneo Post when contacted yesterday.

Dr Jerip was responding to a recent media report that the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) president Datuk Dr N K S Tharmaseelan had said there were too many medical students graduating each year and there were not enough hospitals to train and provide jobs for them.

Although the Health Ministry has assured that there are some 1,000 vacancies for doctors this year, he believes that the future remains uncertain for aspiring doctors unless more training hospitals are opened.

Dr Tharmaseelan called on the government to build more hospitals, increase the number of beds in existing ones and equip district hospitals with training facilities to accommodate the influx of aspiring doctors.

The MMA also urged the government to monitor private medical colleges which have sprouted in the country, as entry requirements are too low for most.

Those from unrecognised colleges need to complete two years of housemanship, two years of compulsory service and sit for medical qualifying exam before being given full registration certificate. Dr Tharmaseelan suggested that these medical colleges have their own hospitals instead of sending graduates to train in government hospitals.

source:MJNnews