Send extra doctors straight away, says Sabah MMA

The health ministry has been urged to immediately deploy additional doctors from Peninsular Malaysia to meet the critical shortage of medical officers at Ranau Hospital and other understaffed healthcare facilities in Sabah.

The Sabah wing of the Malaysian Medical Association said urgent intervention was needed following reports of doctors working between 48 and 72 consecutive hours with inadequate rest, raising serious concerns over their well-being and the sustainability of healthcare services.

Sabah MMA chairman Dr Brandon Patrick Senagang said the state health department had confirmed that 11 of Ranau Hospital’s 19 medical officers were transferred out following the recent permanent appointment exercise, while only one of seven designated replacements from outside Sabah had reported for duty, leaving the hospital operating with nine doctors, including its director.

He said a report by CodeBlue, describing doctors working between 48 and 72 consecutive hours with inadequate rest, was deeply troubling.

Brandon said the health department had estimated a shortfall of 245 medical officers, with 67% of replacement candidates from outside Sabah failing to report for duty. Sabah MMA had also received reports of prolonged working hours and increasingly frequent on-call duties at other hospitals across the state, with some doctors considering leaving the service due to mounting pressure and exhaustion.

He called for an “immediate, coordinated programme of temporary deployments from Peninsular Malaysia” with clear rotation periods, funded travel and accommodation, and adequate operational support.

Brandon also welcomed the ministry’s special recruitment exercise to fill 750 vacancies for medical officers in Sabah and Sarawak. However, the proposed reporting date of Feb 15 was too far away to address the immediate crisis, he said.

Longer-term measures should include restoring percentage-based regional incentive payments, stronger incentives for rural and East Malaysian postings, relocation assistance and safe accommodation, clear posting durations, transparent transfer arrangements and career progression opportunities.