By WU VUIDE
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah’s shortage of doctors is reaching breaking point. Many hospitals face severe manpower pressure and struggle to attract and retain medical officers.
Malaysian Medical Association Sabah Branch chairman Dr Brandon Patrick Senagang said the branch supports MMA president Dr Sivanaesan Letchumanan’s call for urgent measures to strengthen incentives and improve working and living conditions for doctors in Sabah and Sarawak.
MMA Sabah supports restoring the previous percentage-based Regional Incentive Payment, or BIW, and reviewing the incentive structure for doctors serving in East Malaysia, he said.
He said the large number of medical officers who did not take up postings in Sabah should be regarded as a serious warning.
“Permanent appointments have long been sought by contract doctors for greater career security. When doctors are prepared to give up a permanent appointment rather than take up a posting, we must ask what is driving that decision,” he said.
Information available to MMA Sabah and feedback from doctors working in hospitals indicate that most hospitals affected by the latest movement of medical officers suffered a net loss rather than a net gain, he said.
He said 138 medical officers from outside Sabah were expected to report to hospitals across the state, but only 47 had reported for duty when the information was compiled. That is about 34 percent.
The figures cover hospital postings only and do not include doctors assigned to district health offices or government health clinics.
“We therefore urge KKM to publish and verify the complete reporting figures across Sabah so that the true extent of the manpower situation can be properly assessed,” he said.
Many Sabah hospitals are already under heavy manpower pressure, Senagang said. MMA Sabah has received feedback that some departments require medical officers to perform every-other-day calls because there are too few doctors to maintain the roster.
“This is not sustainable,” he said.
“Increasing the workload of doctors who remain could create a cycle of understaffing, exhaustion, burnout and further attrition.
“Ultimately, patients will carry the consequences through longer waits, delays in treatment and reduced capacity to maintain services safely,” he said.
MMA Sabah supports measures proposed by its national president, including restoring percentage-based BIW, strengthening incentives for service in Sabah and Sarawak, improving relocation assistance and giving doctors greater certainty over the duration of postings in East Malaysia.
Other measures include improving staff accommodation and basic infrastructure, and recognising service in underserved areas through career and postgraduate opportunities.
He urged the Federal Government to give the proposals serious consideration, particularly with Budget 2027 approaching.
However, Brandon said addressing Sabah’s doctor shortage cannot be the responsibility of the Federal Government alone.
The Sabah Government can also play an important role in making the state more attractive for doctors to serve and remain, he said.
MMA Sabah proposed five areas for the State Government to consider: improving staff accommodation, providing Sabah-specific supplementary incentives, improving living conditions around rural health facilities, building a stronger pipeline of Sabah-trained doctors and establishing a stronger Federal-State partnership on healthcare manpower.
Brandon said safe and adequate accommodation remains a major concern, particularly in rural districts, where some doctors struggle to find suitable housing close to their facilities.
The State Government should work with the Health Ministry and relevant agencies to identify facilities with inadequate staff housing, speed up repairs and refurbishment of existing quarters and increase accommodation capacity where suitable rental housing is unavailable, he said.
He also called for consideration of accommodation support, transport assistance and targeted incentives for underserved districts.
“Recruitment and retention cannot be separated from basic infrastructure. Reliable water and electricity, road access, internet connectivity and safe transportation directly affect the daily lives of doctors and other healthcare workers serving rural communities,” he said.
Sabah also needs to develop more of its own healthcare workforce through scholarships, financial assistance and other programmes supporting Sabahans pursuing medicine and specialist training, Brandon said.
Doctors who choose to build their careers in Sabah should also have opportunities for postgraduate training and professional development, he said.
MMA Sabah also proposed a structured platform involving the Sabah Government, Health Ministry, Sabah Health Department and other relevant stakeholders to regularly review manpower shortages and identify facilities at greatest risk.
“We should not wait until a hospital is critically understaffed before acting,” he said.
Brandon said permanent appointments are important but alone are not enough to address the situation.
“A position that exists on an organisational chart means little if nobody is willing to fill it.
“A permanent position that no doctor accepts does not treat a patient. A staffing establishment that exists only on paper does not run a hospital,” he said.
Sabah needs doctors on the ground, adequately supported and working under safe and reasonable conditions, with opportunities for professional development and reasons to remain in the state, he said.
“The Federal and State Governments must act together.
“The warning signs are already in front of us. We should not wait for healthcare services to fail before recognising the seriousness of the problem.
“Sabah’s doctor shortage is reaching breaking point. Action must come before the breaking point becomes a breakdown,” he said.
‘Increasing the workload of doctors who remain could create a cycle of understaffing, exhaustion, burnout and further attrition. Ultimately, patients will carry the consequences through longer waits, delays in treatment and reduced capacity to maintain services safely’ – Dr Brandon
