KUCHING (March 17): Federal Deputy Health Minister Datuk Lukanisman Awang Sauni has been tasked with addressing the issue of over 800 Sarawakian nurses who have expressed their desire to serve at home, said Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian.

The Deputy Premier said he was informed of this latest directive after attending a meeting with the Ministry of Health in Putrajaya recently.

“I was given the understanding that the Deputy Health Minister has chaired a meeting to immediately look into the 800 Sarawakian nurses working outside the state who wish to come home.

“We need more new (medical) staff and if we can take these 800 nurses who wish to work back in Sarawak, this is at least better than nothing. That would be a good start,” Dr Sim told reporters after officiating at the Empower Her Programme at Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) here today.

Dr Sim recently said Sarawak was in discussions with Putrajaya to facilitate the return of over 800 Sarawakian medical staff who wish to serve in the state.

He said the state has positions available to accommodate the returning medical personnel and aims to ensure that they can serve closer to home.

Dr Sim also said that he will be meeting with the State Health Department tomorrow to discuss the placement of medical officers (MOs) or doctors in the state, as there is currently a shortage for the number of patients in Sarawak.

“Sarawak in fact needs a 54 per cent increase in the number of doctors and a 45 per cent increase in the number of hospital beds if we want to be on par with the rest of Malaysia.

“At SGH, we currently have 409 MO positions available but only 387 MOs. Ideally, it should be about 563 MOs because the number of beds at the hospital has increased to 1,000,” he said.

On a related matter, Dr Sim said last year was the first that SGH had recorded more than 3,000 new cancer cases in the state.

“In the past year, the number cases were around 2,000 and now, it is over 3,000 cases.

“We also recorded more than 500 new cases of breast cancer as well,” he said.

He revealed that 70 per cent of the cases were already at the late stages.

During the programme, Dr Sim witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Sarawak Energy and Roche Pharmaceuticals Malaysia to launch the ‘Empower HER’ Innovative Funding Model programme

This initiative adopts a stakeholder-inclusive co-funding approach to improve access to timely and innovative cancer care, ensuring financially challenged patients receive prompt treatment in public hospitals.

“The Empower HER Programme and the innovative funding model being formalised through today’s signing ceremony will help alleviate these challenges, marking a critical step towards ensuring all breast cancer patients – especially those from M40 and B40 households – have access to the necessary information and support.

“Efforts such as this will help ensure that all Sarawakians have an equal opportunity to detect and treat breast cancer at an early stage – improving both their chances of survival as well as their quality of life,” said Dr Sim.

Signing the MoU on behalf of Sarawak Energy was senior vice president of Corporate Services Siti Aisah Adenan while Roche Pharmaceuticals Malaysia was represented by general manager Deepti Saraf.

Also present were Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Minister Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah, Sarawak Energy group chief executive officer Datuk Sharbini Suhaili, SGH director Dr Ngian Hie Ung, Sarawak Energy senior vice president for Legal and Compliance George Chapman, and Roche Pharmaceuticals Malaysia chapter lead (Government Affairs and Policy) Logan Karagata.