KUALA LUMPUR, April 15 — Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) president Dr Azizan Abdul Aziz said there had been a continued exodus of government nurses overseas in the past four years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. admitted that.
According to a report in Utusan Malaysia today, she said many people from countries such as neighboring Singapore, Australia and West Asia have moved to the Ministry of Health in search of higher-paying jobs, better incentives and less pressure. He claimed to have quit his job.
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“Many are starting work in Singapore, Australia and West Asia. The monthly starting salary for a U29 grade new public health nurse in Malaysia is around RM1,800, while a new graduate nurse in Singapore can earn almost five times that. .”
“Low pay in public health care is one of the main reasons why nurses are looking for greener pastures in private health care and abroad,” she was quoted as saying.
Dr Azizan asserted that workplace pressure and low wages are among the factors contributing to the increasing number of nursing vacancies in public health facilities in Malaysia.
“Nurses may also be suffering from 'burnout' from working too much all the time,” she was quoted as saying.
according to Utusan MalaysiaJob openings for government nurses have increased by 10 to 40 percent over the past four years.
The Ministry of Health told parliament last month that nursing vacancies increased from 2,106 in 2020 to 2,224 in 2021 and 4,420 in 2022. The latest figure as of last year was 6,896.
Dr. Azizan said the government should focus on the welfare of all health workers, including nurses, to ensure that the quality of the health sector improves to cope with the increasing number of patients visiting government clinics and hospitals every day. He said it was necessary to guess.
He added that nurses' incentives and salaries need to be improved and reviewed, taking into account their responsibilities as mainstays of the country's public health sector.
“As part of our efforts to retain nurses working in the public health system, nurses' salaries need to be significantly increased, along with the benefits they are entitled to.
“Although we probably won't be able to compete with the pay packages offered by the private sector, we can take steps to improve the work-life balance of nurses.
“The MMA believes that most Malaysian nurses would like to remain in Malaysia if given the option, but if they are struggling to make a living, they may have few options.” she said.
However, Malaysia's nursing shortage is not limited to the public health sector, with the Malaysian Private Hospitals Association saying the private sector will need around 9,224 additional nurses from 2023 to 2025, the newspaper reported.
