KUALA SELANGOR, May 29 — Training for caregivers must be increased to address a shortage in supply, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

Dr Wan Azizah, who is also women, family and community development minister, said the shortage was not due to any lack of manpower, but an insufficiency in training providers to produce qualified caregivers.

“It is not difficult to get caregivers, but they need training,” said Dr Wan Azizah.

Advertisement

“Sometimes without training, many will misinterpret care given as the patient being mishandled.”

There is currently one professional caregiver to every 10 patients in the country, and Dr Wan Azizah has said this should ideally be one to every four patients who are not chronically ill.

At a visit to the Rumah Ehsan social welfare centre in Kuala Kubu Baru, Dr Wan Azizah also said that the country was becoming an ageing nation.

Advertisement

She said that by 2030, 15 per cent of Malaysians would be above the age of 60.

Dr Wan Azizah said another concerning factor was the country’s low birth rate.