Healthcare hub plan

NST: KOTA KINABALU: School-leavers in Sabah could fill the shortage in nursing and critical healthcare services by taking up courses at the newly-opened RM30 million Masterskill College of Nursing and Health in the city.
With six programmes on offer at the Plaza Juta campus, the group is helping to reduce the need for locals to travel to the peninsula to study nursing and health science.
Group executive director and chief executive officer Datuk Edmund Santhara said five more courses, including diplomas in paramedic science, occupational therapy and forensic science, would soon be introduced locally.
"Most ambulance drivers do not have enough training to handle patients. We are working with an Australian institute to offer a three-year diploma in paramedic science, the first of its kind in Asia.
"We have started with the first batch of 30 students in Kuala Lumpur, and in Sabah, we will take another batch of 30 students in September.
"The programmes that we are offering are critical ones due to shortage of skilled people to fill the needs of hospitals and others (healthcare providers)."
The World Health Organisation standard is one nurse for every 200 patients, but recent statistics show that a Malaysian nurse cares for 645 patients. The country will require 130,000 healthcare professionals in 2020, double the current 75,000.
Santhara said that since a third of its students at campuses in the peninsula were from Sabah and Sarawak, the group decided to spend another RM50 million to build a second campus in the city which is expected to be ready at the end of next year.
"We want Sabah to become a healthcare hub for East Malaysia. With a second campus, we can take in 10,000 students, including foreign nationals from China, India and Indonesia."
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman, who opened the campus yesterday, said the college fits into the Sabah Development Corridor framework which aims to maximise economic growth based on skilled and knowledge workers.
"With more education and employment opportunities in Sabah, we can move towards improving the socio-economic status of the people."