Health DG tells contract doctors to remember their oath, don't join strike

 

Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah called on contract doctors not to join a planned strike tomorrow, reminding them of their oath.

"Calling all my fellow colleagues, doctors and healthcare workers to remember the oath we all made when we began our profession, primum non nocere, first do no harm or injustice to our patients.

"To our junior colleagues on contract post, I urge all of you, please do not join the demonstration and abandon your duty to your patients.

"Remember many lives are on the line and the demonstration could affect their lives and even your career," he said in a statement on Facebook.

Noor Hisham (above) noted that the government has offered a two-year extension to contract doctors who have served five years of their contract.

Hartal Doktor Kontrak, which is lobbying for permanent positions for contract doctors, had described the proposed solution as "half-cooked".

However, Noor Hisham said the extension is meant to give the government time in order to make permanent placements possible.

"This is to give time for the amendment to be made to the Pensions Act so that permanent positions can be allowed to be employed with Employees Provident Fund (EPF), ie without pension option.

"Meanwhile, the government will allow those in contract positions to continue their masters even in contract positions and will offer the permanent EPF position once made available," he said.

Safety of patients must take precedence

Noor Hisham reiterated that the safety of patients must take precedence.

"Remember the oath we took sincerely and be there for your patients at the time when they and country needed you the most.

"We are the last bastion of defence to make a difference to our patients and every life matters," he said.

In the comment section of his statement, a Facebook user later accused Noor Hisham's daughter of getting preferential treatment.

However, Noor Hisham refuted the claim, stressing that his daughter, like other contract doctors, was also "floating like others with uncertainty".

The contract doctors are lobbying for better job security and career prospects.

Government junior contract doctors face the risk of losing their job after the end of their five-year training at government hospitals.

There is a lack of permanent positions at public hospitals due to the government's budgetary constraints.

As a result, many of them have to move to the private sector or continue their specialist training abroad.

The contract doctors are planning a mass walkout at 11am tomorrow (July 26) but they are to ensure a substitute while they are away and those in critical services will return to their post if the need arises. - Mkini