The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a proposed amendment to the Organic Act for the Ministry of Health and Welfare (衛生福利部組織法) that would pave the way for the appointment of medical professionals, including doctors, nurses and pharmacists, as deputy ministers.
People who have six years of experience in a class A position may be appointed deputy minister per the Regulations on Human Resource Matters for Medical Personnel (醫事人員人事條例), the proposal says.
A class A position is the equivalent of grade 10 to 13 on the civil servant pay scale, Department of Human Resources Director Chang Mei-ling (張美玲) said.
For example, doctors would have to work consecutively for 11 years after graduation from medical school to obtain class A qualification, Chang said.
The job of the deputy minister is to supervise medical agencies and relevant affairs, Chang said, adding that current regulations only allow civil servants to be appointed to the position via promotion.
“We hope that with the [proposed] amendment, civil servants and medical practitioners would be eligible for the position,” Chang said.
Once approved by the Legislative Yuan, the director of the Department of Medical Affairs, the heads of all medical affairs agencies that are classified as tertiary government agencies and the heads of local health bureaus would all be eligible for appointment as deputy minister, Chang said.
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