Pasir Gudang Hospital fully operational December 2026 – Dzulkefly

The current staffing level at the Pasir Gudang Hospital (HPG) stands at 48 per cent, involving 1,075 personnel since it began operations in August last year, says Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.

He said staffing would be increased in phases, with the target of reaching 66 per cent by September, before achieving full operational capacity comprising 16 delivery rooms and 304 beds by December.

The ministry, he said, was actively implementing the Staffing Action Plan, with the staffing level for medical officers (MOs) currently at 85.4 per cent, with 176 of 206 positions filled as of Tuesday.

“Permanent appointments for this year have also been opened to fill the remaining vacancies. In addition, HPG currently offers 10 basic specialist services, while the 11th, Ophthalmology, will be introduced within the next six months,” he said in a statement today.

Dzulkefly said the staffing level for medical specialists was expected to rise to 48.05 per cent when nine pre-gazettement specialists report for duty from this month until February 2027 at the latest, compared with the current 36.36 per cent.

He said the placement of 80 new assistant medical officers (AMOs) in early October would raise the staffing level from 68 to 91 per cent, while the current nursing staffing level of 32.24 per cent was expected to increase to 40.42 per cent after 70 additional nurses report for duty in September.

“For positions covering various professions (including radiographers, medical laboratory technologists, dietitians and physiotherapists), human resource recruitment is being carried out progressively to increase the current staffing level, which stands at 45 per cent,” he said.

As an interim measure, the Ministry of Health (MOH) is also implementing a cluster and visiting specialist approach to meet service requirements among facilities facing manpower shortages.

He said the measure was aimed at ensuring every patient received appropriate attention based on clinical assessment, as well as prompt treatment for emergency cases.

Recognising the challenges posed by shortages of healthcare personnel, particularly nurses and medical specialists, Dzulkefly said the ministry was actively implementing structural reforms to provide long-term solutions.

He said the initiatives included strengthening the Specialist Training Pathway by increasing “parallel pathway” sponsorship slots to 600 annually, and providing financial incentives such as Specialist Incentive Payments and Pre-Gazetted Specialist Incentive Payments (BIPPW) to eligible officers.

In addition, he said the capacity of trainees at MOH Training Institutes (ILKKM) was increased to 3,000 from last year, with the target of reaching 5,000 trainees by October 2027 through the opening of four new colleges.

“The staffing process at HPG is closely monitored and must be implemented strategically and cannot be carried out drastically for a particular facility alone.

“Hence, we remain committed to ensuring HPG operates optimally according to the planned phases, for the benefit and continued quality of healthcare services for the people of Johor,” he said.

Earlier, Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi had called on the MOH to expedite the filling of positions at the hospital so that it could operate optimally to meet the healthcare needs of residents in the surrounding areas.

Source: Bernama