KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 21 (Bernama) -- The number of trainee nurses who pass their qualifying test in nurses training colleges run by the Health Ministry is very low and worrying, Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek said Monday.
Last year, only 44.4 per cent, less than half of the 2,000 trainee nurses passed the test, he said.
The ministry viewed the matter seriously as the country was still lagging behind in meeting the target set by the World Health Organisation by 2020, which requires a nurse for every 200 residents (1:200), he told reporters.
He said there were about 40,000 trained nurses working in government and private hospitals nationwide, with a ratio of one nurse to 645 people.
"To achieve the 1:200 ratio, we need to have about 170,000 nurses. From now until 2020, we've to train 130,000 nurses or about 8,000 a year.
"Now, we are only training 3,000 a year, either by the ministry or by private nursing colleges recognised by the ministry," he said.
He said the situation had been compounded by the high failure rate among trainee nurses.
Chua said a study by the Health Management Institute found most of the failed trainees did not have credits in English and Science at the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia level.
He said the high failure rate problem did not exist in the Health Ministry-recognised private colleges where the passing rate was 98 per cent last year.
There are 37 nurses training centres country-wide. Five more are to be built under the Ninth Malaysia Plan in Perak, Johor Baharu, Alor Star, Sabah and Kuching.
-- BERNAMA
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