Involve nurses in duty roster to lower burnout, say private hospitals

 Association says private hospitals accommodate the shift preferences and input of nurses, allowing them adequate rest and time off.

The Malayan Nurses Union said nurses in public hospitals were already under immense pressure and that an increase in working hours will exacerbate this.

PETALING JAYA:

 The Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia (APHM) has offered its insights on preventing nurses from burning out, as the health ministry moves to implement a 45-hour work week for ward nurses in government hospitals from Aug 1.

APHM said private hospitals had structured schedules designed to ensure both effective patient care and staff wellbeing, with nurses typically working between 42 to 45 hours a week, depending on unit and service needs.

APHM president Dr Kuljit Singh said the private healthcare sector also involved nurses in scheduling decisions, adding that studies have shown this improved job satisfaction and lowered the burnout rate.

Kuljit said private hospitals set up their schedules to ensure 24-hour coverage while allowing nurses adequate rest and time off, as well as accommodating their shift preferences and input into the roster.

“These hours are not arbitrary mandates, but are carefully crafted based on departmental demands, patient acuity and workload to ensure nurses are neither overworked nor underutilised,” he said in a statement.

While government hospitals have higher patient loads, Kuljit said they had a significantly larger pool of nursing staff than private hospitals.

This comes after the health ministry was given a “final” two-month extension for the implementation of the 45-hour work week for ward nurses.

The Malayan Nurses Union (MNU) protested the decision, saying nurses in public hospitals were already under immense pressure and that an increase in hours will make matters worse.

“In the government sector, nurses work on rotating shifts, that is morning, evening, and night, and the roster is not fixed,” MNU president Saaidah Athman told FMT.

“Schedules often change and sometimes, even when they are on official leave, nurses are called back to work based on the needs of the unit.”

Despite the larger pool of nurses in public hospitals, Saaidah said many were already taking on extra duties without additional support, with some even forced to delay going to the toilet because of the number of tasks.

“When on double duty, they assist in patient transfers, support procedures, managing documentation, providing medications, and following doctors on rounds. Sometimes they end up working up to 14 hours a day.

“If a single shift becomes eight hours, double duty becomes 16 hours. There’s no shift allowance, no meal allowance, no transport allowance. How can nurses not feel burned out?” - FMT