MOH will push for absorbing contract dental and pharmacy officers, says Dzulkefly

The Malaysian Ministry of Health plans to propose the conversion of contract dental and pharmacy officers into permanent positions to ensure their future welfare, following a similar approach taken for medical doctors.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Dzulkefly Ahmad announced this during a televised interview, indicating the use of a separate quota from the 9,000 permanent medical doctor positions set under Budget 2027.

Additionally, he is advocating for a RM100 million seed allocation to enhance non-communicable disease management at the primary healthcare level, emphasizing the importance of prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13 — The Ministry of Health (MOH) will recommend absorbing contract dental and pharmacy officers into permanent positions for the consideration of the Ministry of Finance and the Cabinet, in an effort to ensure the future and welfare of these groups are safeguarded.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said the proposal would be pursued within a reasonable timeframe, based on the approach previously used to address the issue of contract medical doctors.

“...the first step will be followed by other service schemes, namely dentists and pharmacists as well,” he said when met after appearing as a guest on Bernama TV’s Ruang Bicara programme titled ‘Realising Budget 2027 With the Health Minister’ last night.

He said the recruitment of dental and pharmacy officers into permanent positions would utilise a new quota separate from the 9,000 permanent medical doctor positions announced under Budget 2027.

The Malaysian Dental Association (MDA) was previously reported to have urged the government and MOH to consider permanent appointments for contract dental officers, following the announcement of permanent appointments for medical doctors.

Commenting on reports regarding dental officers whose contracts ended without being renewed, Dzulkefly said MOH would continue to pay attention to their welfare and work experience within the public healthcare system.

In another development, Dzulkefly expressed hope that the Ministry of Finance would consider a request for a seed allocation of approximately RM100 million to strengthen non-communicable disease (NCD) management at the primary healthcare level.

He said the allocation is crucial to enhancing prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, and continuous control of chronic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure.

“Matters related to NCD management are a major component I am bringing into the reforms. In addition to PeKa B40, which received an allocation of RM80 million, managing NCDs from a healthcare perspective is essential to effectively address this chronic disease pandemic.

“It encompasses not only first-stage screening, but also continuous diagnosis, treatment, and control for conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure,” he said.

He added that benchmarking per capita expenditure for NCD management also takes into account practices in countries like Singapore and Indonesia, as well as global trends prioritising primary healthcare services. — Bernama

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马来西亚卫生部计划提议将合同制牙医和药剂师转为永久职位，以保障他们的未来福利，此举与对医生的做法类似。

卫生部长拿督斯里祖基菲里·阿末在电视采访中宣布了这一消息，并表示将使用2027年财政预算案中设定的9000个永久医生职位之外的单独配额。

此外，他还倡导拨款 1 亿令吉作为种子资金，以加强基层医疗保健层面的非传染性疾病管理，强调预防、诊断和治疗糖尿病、高血压等慢性疾病的重要性。

吉隆坡，10 月 13 日讯——卫生部将建议将合同制牙医和药剂师转为永久职位，供财政部和内阁考虑，以确保这些群体的未来和福祉得到保障。

卫生部长拿督斯里祖基菲里·艾哈迈德表示，该提议将在合理的时间范围内予以推进，并参照此前处理合同医生问题的方法。

“……第一步之后，其他服务计划也将陆续推出，例如牙医和药剂师，”他在昨晚作为嘉宾出现在马新社电视台的“Ruang Bicara”节目中，该节目名为“与卫生部长一起实现2027年预算”后接受采访时表示。

他表示，招聘牙科和药剂师担任永久职位将采用新的配额，与 2027 年预算案中宣布的 9,000 个永久医生职位分开。

此前有报道称，马来西亚牙科协会 (MDA) 曾敦促政府和卫生部考虑为合同制牙医提供永久职位，此前政府已宣布为医生提供永久职位。

针对有关牙科医生合同到期未获续签的报道，祖基菲里表示，卫生部将继续关注他们在公共医疗体系中的福利和工作体验。

另一方面，祖基菲里表示希望财政部考虑拨款约 1 亿令吉作为启动资金，以加强基层医疗保健层面的非传染性疾病 (NCD) 管理。

他表示，这笔拨款对于加强糖尿病和高血压等慢性疾病的预防、筛查、诊断、治疗和持续控制至关重要。

“非传染性疾病管理是我此次改革的重要组成部分。除了已获得8000万令吉拨款的PeKa B40项目外，从医疗保健的角度管理非传染性疾病对于有效应对这一慢性病流行至关重要。”

他说：“它不仅包括第一阶段的筛查，还包括对糖尿病和高血压等疾病的持续诊断、治疗和控制。”

他还补充说，在制定非传染性疾病管理的人均支出基准时，也考虑到了新加坡和印度尼西亚等国的做法，以及优先发展基层医疗服务的全球趋势。——马新社

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