Health Ministry faces shortage of 1,176 drivers, including ambulance personnel

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 — The Health Ministry (MoH) is reportedly facing a nationwide shortage of 1,176 vehicle drivers, including those assigned to ambulances, with the vacancies expected to persist until at least April next year.

Berita Harian reported that the ministry attributed the shortage to delays in recruiting General Service Assistants (Driving) after the Public Service Department temporarily suspended recruitment through the Public Services Commission (PSC) in 2024 to facilitate implementation of the new Public Service Remuneration System (SSPA).

Under the SSPA, the former vehicle driver scheme was merged into the new General Service Assistant scheme, requiring recruitment requirements to be reviewed, particularly for personnel tasked with driving ambulances.

According to the report, MoH said it expects the vacant driving posts at public health facilities to be filled in stages from April 2027, subject to the completion of the PSC recruitment process.

As of September 30, the ministry had 8,863 General Service Assistant (Driving) positions, of which 7,687 were filled, according to figures provided by MoH to Berita Harian.

Peninsular Malaysia accounted for 1,003 of the vacancies, followed by Sarawak with 92, Sabah with 73 and Labuan with eight.

The ministry reportedly said recruitment projections would also have to account for existing vacancies, retirements, staff attrition and the operational requirements of individual facilities.

It added that applications were still being processed by the PSC, while the driving competency test for candidates was completed on October 27.

The shortage comes as the government plans to procure 400 new ambulances for MoH hospitals under Budget 2027, a measure intended to improve emergency response times.

Berita Harian had earlier reported concerns from PEMATA-KKM president Reostam Dzahar that the shortage was increasing the workload of existing drivers, with some allegedly working beyond stipulated hours and experiencing burnout.

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吉隆坡，11 月 2 日讯——据报道，卫生部面临全国范围内 1176 名车辆驾驶员的短缺，其中包括救护车驾驶员，预计这一空缺至少会持续到明年 4 月。

据《每日新闻》报道，该部将人员短缺归咎于公共服务部在2024年暂停通过公共服务委员会（PSC）进行招聘，以促进新的公共服务薪酬制度（SSPA）的实施，导致一般服务助理（驾驶员）的招聘工作出现延误。

根据《服务人员计划法案》(SSPA)，原有的车辆驾驶员计划并入新的普通服务助理计划，因此需要审查招聘要求，特别是负责驾驶救护车的人员的招聘要求。

根据该报告，卫生部表示，预计从 2027 年 4 月起分阶段填补公共卫生机构的空缺驾驶员职位，具体时间取决于公共卫生委员会的招聘流程是否完成。

根据卫生部向《每日新闻》提供的数据，截至9月30日，该部共有8863个一般服务助理（驾驶）职位，其中7687个职位已招满。

马来西亚半岛的空缺职位最多，达 1003 个，其次是砂拉越（92 个）、沙巴（73 个）和纳闽（8 个）。

据报道，该部表示，招聘预测还必须考虑到现有空缺、退休、人员流失以及各个机构的运营需求。

声明还补充说，公共服务委员会仍在处理申请，而候选人的驾驶能力测试已于 10 月 27 日完成。

政府计划在 2027 年预算案中为卫生部医院采购 400 辆新救护车，以期改善紧急响应时间，但与此同时，救护车却出现了短缺。

《每日新闻》此前曾报道，马来西亚道路交通管理局（PEMATA）主席雷奥斯塔姆·扎哈尔表示，司机短缺加剧了现有司机的工作量，一些司机据称工作时间超过规定时长，导致司机精疲力竭。

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