“The health ministry is concerned about healthcare workers leaving to work outside the ministry.

“This issue also affects private facilities, as their staff may resign to work at other healthcare facilities domestically or abroad,” he said in a written parliamentary reply to Wong Shu Qi (PH-Kluang), who asked about measures to address the nursing shortage by 2030 and the brain drain in the sector.

On May 3, Dzulkefly had said the shortage of nurses in hospitals is projected to be close to 60% by 2030.

To address this issue, he said, collaboration between the public and private sectors could help improve the shortfall of nursing staff needed to meet the nation’s healthcare demands.

On June 25, the health ministry also said it was addressing 6,787 vacant nursing posts, which included newly created positions from facility upgrades.

Dzulkefly said the Public Services Commission was handling recruitment to ensure adequate staffing.

Meanwhile, health ministry analysis showed that 20 medical specialists have resigned to emigrate abroad, he said.

This number represents 1% of the total 1,991 medical specialists who had resigned between 2013 and 2023, with the primary factor for emigration being the offer of higher salaries abroad.

He was responding to Shahidan Kassim (PN-Arau), who asked the ministry to state how many specialist doctors emigrated abroad in the past 10 years.