The health ministry will hold a special permanent appointment exercise for medical officers to meet Sabah's staffing needs, with placements to begin in February. (Magnific pic)PETALING JAYA: Sabah is experiencing a shortage of 245 medical officers following the second phase of a permanent appointment exercise involving the transfer of doctors.
The Sabah health department said the transferred doctors were supposed to have replacements, but 67% of the replacement candidates from outside the state failed to report for duty despite accepting the permanent appointments.
The department said Ranau Hospital was among the healthcare facilities affected, with the hospital currently having only nine medical officers, including the hospital director.
