The Ministry of Health (MoH) regularly assesses the need to increase the capacity of doctors and health professionals in required specialist fields.
Minister of Health Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Isham bin Haji Jaafar, addressed queries concerning existing and planned initiatives by the MoH to further increase the involvement and enhance the expertise of local specialists and consultants, ensuring they are on par with establishments in neighbouring countries and internationally, during the 21st Legislative Council (LegCo) session.
He stated that doctors complete their training at institutions of international standard, and therefore the ministry recognises those who have completed specialist training as experts comparable to those abroad.
They are able to carry out clinical duties and assume responsibility as specialists immediately upon their return from completing their training.
Furthermore, local doctors and professionals are invited and have the opportunity to gain experience in presenting and publishing journal papers at a global level.
This exposure provides international recognition for local doctors and other health professionals.
The ministry also introduces sophisticated and up-to-date machinery and medical technology, as well as treatments, for use by local specialists.
The number of doctors who have attained specialist-level qualifications has increased year on year, compared to 15 years ago when the MoH had approximately 30 specialists.
Currently, there are 128 local doctors who have achieved specialist-level experience and qualifications for consultants in various fields, operating in health centres across public health, dentistry and specialist areas in hospitals, such as paediatrics, surgery and emergency medicine.
These specialists can also serve as instructors for in-house courses or training conducted at educational institutions in the country.
In addition to the development of local experts and medical infrastructure, the transfer of skills from foreign experts is also evident.
For example, several treatment procedures that were previously sent abroad or carried out by foreign experts can now be performed in Brunei Darussalam, such as heart surgery and kidney transplant surgery, with surgical teams led by local consultant specialists.
For complex surgeries, such as liver transplants, local consultants or experts collaborate with foreign experts brought to Brunei to lead the surgery and provide guidance or transfer skills to local experts.
This represents a return on investment for the government, as their expertise can be optimised and fully utilised in training other local doctors during their internships.
The ministry anticipates that training procedures will be fully handled by local experts in stages, aligned with the increase in the number of local experts.
The ministry continues to identify additional needs, such as appropriate equipment and facilities.
It hopes that the people and residents of the country will trust the ministry to provide treatment comparable to international standards, further expanding the provision of clinical services.
The MoH also continues to identify required medical personnel.
He highlighted that the services of foreign doctors are still necessary to accommodate the provision of clinical services, due to the shortage of local practitioners, considering the nearly 70 branches of expertise provided by the ministry.
Plans are continuously being implemented to increase the number of required clinical staff by examining recruitment strategies to ensure that the necessary doctors can be recruited within the expected timeframe. – Fadhil Yunus
