JOHOR BARU, Sept 22 — A total of 1,136 nurses who graduated from the Ministry of Health Malaysia (MOH) Training Institute and were hired on a contractual basis, will be given permanent appointments in the fourth quarter of this year and the first quarter of next year, says Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

He said, meanwhile, the permanent appointment process for 2,804 private nurses who were previously appointed on contract and served at the Ministry of Health, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, will be done in phases with the Public Services Commission.

"For U29 and U32 grade nurses who have a bachelor’s degree in nursing, in principle, they can be considered for appointment to Grade U41 or promoted to Grade U42,” he told reporters after officiating the 25th Joint Malaysia-Singapore Nursing Conference 2022 here, today.

In addition, he said to ensure efficient and effective delivery of services at mother and child clinics and rural clinics, the Ministry of Health had submitted an application to make the Grade U19 Community Nurse post more flexible to include Grade U29 nurses.

He said the amendment would enable 1,406 Grade U19 nurses who had passed the nursing diploma course to be offered permanent appointments and remain in their existing posts as Grade U29 nurses.

According to Khairy, 2,775 posts for Grade U19 Community Nurses were still vacant a present, and with the new arrangement, they could be filled by graduates from the Ministry of Health Training Institute or nurses from the private sector.

He said following the resolution of the contract doctor issue, some of the issues concerning nurses had now been resolved, and those surrounding medical assistants were also being looked into.

"So we will continue to try to enhance (the health workforce) and I have also requested additional funds from the Ministry of Finance in the upcoming Budget in order to provide more attractive schemes for nurses as announced today,” he added. — Bernama