10,000 doctors to be sent nationwide

JAKARTA: Minister of Health Achmad Suyudi said on Wednesday that the government planned to deploy 10,000 doctors at community health centers across the country next year.

"The doctors will become civil servants, and we will prioritize those who have completed the temporary work program (PTT)," he said.

Suyudi hinted that the plan had won the support of the Ministry of Social Welfare and the Office of the State Minister of Administrative Reforms.

He added that the PTT program would also be modified next year through a ministerial decree.

"The newly graduated physicians may choose whether to join the program at state or private health institutions selected by the government," Suyudi said.

Young physicians currently have to serve at state health institutions under the PTT program for about three years. --JP