Kota Kinabalu: The shortage of nurses in Sabah’s government hospitals has not reached alarming level, said Sabah Health Department Director Dr Maria Suleiman.
She said Sabah currently has a total of 11,741 nursing positions in with 10,210 filled and 1,554 still vacant.
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While the shortage of nurses is not critical, she said there is a need for increased staffing to maintain quality healthcare services.
“We hope the Ministry of Health Malaysia (KKM) will prioritise filling these vacancies in the near future
“Although we are short-staffed and such shortage is not serious, we continue to deliver the best possible care using our current human resources,” Dr Maria said.
She was commenting on whether shortage of nurses is serious in Sabah’s government hospitals.
Dr Maria said this after the opening of the State-level 2025 Nurses’ Day celebrations and blood donation programme themed “Our Nurses, Our Future, Caring for Nurses Strengthens Economies” held at of Queen Elizabeth II Hospital here on Tuesday.
The Deputy Chief Minister III cum Minister of Works, Datuk Ir Shahelmey Yahya, who represented Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Haji Noor, officiated the event that was held for the second time, to commemorate the Nurses’ Day and the services rendered by the nurses in Sabah.
Due to the shortage of nurses, she said the nurses have to work double shifts and overtime to ensure sufficient nurses for nursing healthcare of the patients and society.
To address the staffing gap, Dr Maria said Sabah relies on its three Ministry of Health training institutes located in Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan and Tawau which produce an estimated 300 to 400 new nurses each year.
Therefore, she hoped that the graduates of this year would able to fill those nursing vacancies in Sabah.
Based on a fact sheet of nurses in Sabah, nursing in Sabah has grown not only in terms of service demand but also in the expertise required to protect the health and well-being of the community.
Sabah nurses have acquired a wide range of specialised (post-basic) skills and among the key areas of specialisation are:
Midwifery (Part 1) – 1,095 nurses
Public Health Nursing – 177 nurses
Perioperative Care – 186 nurses
Critical Care – 160 nurses
Emergency Care – 145 nurses
Pediatric Care – 173 nurses
Infection Prevention and Control – 123 nurses
In addition to these specialties, many nurses in Sabah have also attained Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, and even PhDs.
On the annual event held for the second time, Dr Maria said the Sabah Health Department marked Nurses Day with a statewide blood donation campaign, held in conjunction with the annual celebration observed on May 12 yearly.
She said this year’s event saw participation from 21 hospitals across Sabah, including Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where the campaign was launched on Tuesday (May 13).
“The initiative, organised by the Sabah Nursing Division of the department, aims to raise awareness of the vital role nurses play in the healthcare system while also supporting the state’s blood banks.
“The target for the day for 2025 is to collect 1,000 pints of blood across 21 Sabah hospitals. Last year, we collected 805 pints from all the government hospitals.
“As of this morning (May 13), Queen Elizabeth Hospital II had collected 52 pints, working towards its goal of obtaining 100 pints,” she said.
As for shortage of parking spaces in QEH II, Dr Maria said such challenge echoed across many healthcare facilities in Sabah and not only in QEH II.
“It’s undeniable that parking space is limited at Queen Elizabeth II Hospital, However, this issue isn’t unique to this hospital — it affects healthcare facilities throughout Sabah.
“In an effort to ease the situation, the hospital has partnered with Qhazanah Sabah Berhad, which has allowed the hospital to utilise an adjacent open area for public parking.
“The collaboration has made available approximately 300 parking spaces for visitors and patients. I am very grateful to Qhazanah for granting access to this space, located just to the right of the hospital,” she said in response to growing public concerns about lack of parking spaces in QEH II.
To a question, Dr Maria said the parking of Qhazanah is located just to the right of the hospital and has been in use for some time — not a new development or future project, as some may have assumed.
On the current number of parking spots remains insufficient to meet demand, Dr Marisa said the hospital hopes that any future land allocation to Queen Elizabeth II includes provisions for expanded parking facilities.
“We remain hopeful that if more land is made available to the hospital, a dedicated parking structure can be developed,” she said.
