Hospital Pasir Gudang dijangka capai kapasiti operasi penuh Disember ini

Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad stated that Hospital Pasir Gudang (HPG) is committed to operating at maximum capacity according to the designated phases. Johor Bharu: Staffing for HPG will be conducted incrementally with a target of 66% by September, before reaching full operational capacity including 304 beds and 16 birthing wards by December 2026.

The minister noted that HPG's staffing level currently stands at 48%, involving 1,075 workers since it opened in August last year. He added that the Ministry of Health (KKM) is actively driving the Staffing Action Plan which has seen MOs' recruitment rate at 85.4%, with 176 out of 206 vacancies filled as of last Tuesday. Layoffs are also open this year to fill the remaining gaps, he said in a statement.

HPG has also offered 10 basic medical services, while specialty eye care (ophthalmology) will be introduced in six months. The minister expects the medical specialist recruitment rate to jump to 48.05% when nine pre-consultants report from this month until February 2027, compared to 36.36% now. He said placing 80 new nursing assistants in early October will boost recruitment from 68 to 91%, while the nursing staff rate of 32.24% is expected to increase to 40.42% with 70 more nurses reporting next month.

For other professions (including X-ray technicians, medical lab technologists, dietitians, and physiotherapists), human resource acquisition is being implemented progressively to boost the current staffing rate of 45%. As an interim measure, KKM is also implementing cluster and visiting specialist approaches to cope with shortages at facilities.

He said this step ensures every patient receives appropriate care based on clinical assessment and timely treatment for emergencies. Recognizing the challenge of health workforce shortage, mainly for nursing and medical specialist schemes, Dzulkefly said his ministry is actively implementing structural reforms for long-term solutions.

These include widening specialty pathways with increased slots by 600 parallel pathways per year and providing financial incentives like Specialist and Pre-Consultant Incentive Payments (BIPPW) to qualified professionals. Additionally, ILKKM's training capacity is increased to 3,000 people since last year, with a target of 5,000 trainers by October 2027 via opening four new colleges.

The staffing intake process at HPG is always closely monitored and must be carried out strategically, not abruptly for individual facilities, he said. The minister reiterated that KKM remains committed to ensuring HPG operates optimally according to the designated phased plan for the health and longevity of quality healthcare for the people of Johor.

Earlier, Johor's Chief Minister Onn Hafiz Ghazi had appealed to KKM to expedite staffing at the hospital to operate optimally and handle health needs of the surrounding community.