UNIVERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE
KUCHING:Using merely the ratio of doctors to patients to measure universal health coverage in Malaysia does not paint the full picture, as this can also indicate a congestion of healthcare workers in larger cities but a lack in rural areas, says Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii.
He added that the recent statement by Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba – that Malaysia had reached the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) recommended doctor-population ratio for universal health coverage – might not fully depict the reality on the ground, especially the needs of doctors in rural areas, particularly in Sabah and Sarawak as well as the Orang Asli settlements in West Malaysia.
“The ratio basically shows the average of the whole country, but if we were to look at it at a micro level, especially state by state, you will find a different picture.
“For example, the official ratio of doctors to population in Sabah is about 1:856 and Sarawak 1:662,” he said in a Facebook post on yesterday.
He said if the matter was delved into further at a micro level with in depth analysis of urban-rural disparity, it would be seen that 45.6 percent or 98 out of 215 rural clinics in Sarawak did not even have a doctor and were instead only run by medical assistants and nurses.
“If we analyse the different departments as well, we will see another picture where there are departments still lacking in manpower.”
Dr Yii noted that an Auditor-General’s Report in 2018 had clearly stated that the Emergency and Trauma Department (ETD) was understaffed, underfunded, and overworked.
He said that such aspects would lead to burnout, which would affect the quality of care provided to patients.
“That is why to fully achieve the principle of universal health coverage, there are other limbs that need to be taken into consideration, including comprehensive population coverage, adequate healthcare services, and also affordable access to healthcare.
“In order to achieve all these, what is more important is actually the distribution of doctors and healthcare workers, especially in places of needs particularly in the rural areas,” he stressed.
He said this was the core issue that the ministry had to address, including finding ways to incentivise healthcare workers to work in these places that were lacking, and to ensure that the distribution of healthcare workers was proportionately done throughout the country.
“That is why I hope that the ministry will not use this ratio as an excuse not to absorb more healthcare workers into public service, as we are still in urgent need of greater investment into public healthcare, including our human resource.”
