KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 2,148 housemen were appointed to public healthcare service in the first half of this year through three rounds of recruitment, says Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad
According to Dzulkefly, 4,924 house officers were appointed in 2018, 6,139 in 2019, 5,113 in 2020. However, post-pandemic, 3,245 medical graduates were appointed in 2022 followed by 3,265 in 2023.The Star reported on May 7 that the number of housemen at the ministry had declined by 50% since 2019, following a drop in medical graduates.
This is to ensure that the housemen were able to gain experience in handling various diseases, in addition to helping the hospital deliver the necessary services. Dzulkefly noted that the ratio of doctors to the population has improved. The ratio of doctors to the population has increased from one doctor to a population of 758 in 2012 to 1:412 in 2022.The ministry is also implementing various initiatives to increase the number of doctors in government service, including increasing the number of housemanship slots to 12,198 in 2024, up from 10,835 in 2013.