Former houseman suicide attempt an old case - Kelantan health director

A recent viral post of a former trainee doctor or houseman on social media who claimed to be a victim of emotional bullying at a government hospital in Kelantan that resulted in a suicide attempt is an old case, said state Health Department director Dr Zaini Hussin.

He said the case occurred in 2019 and was closed as the allegations could not be proven but now have gone viral again.

Zaini (above) added that a post which had gone viral yesterday did not mention the writer in detail made it difficult to identify the complainant.

“We have seen the report and it did not mention specifically who the writer is and this has made it difficult for us to identify whether the complainant is a graduate doctor or vice versa.

“If there is a more specific report, we are always ready to conduct further investigations and ensure that they (victims of bullying) get justice if the incident indeed took place,” he said.

He said this to reporters after attending the Raja Perempuan Zainab II Hospital (HRPZ II) World Asthma Day and the launch of the HRPZ II Severe Asthma Clinic today.

Yesterday, a trainee doctor claimed to have suffered emotional abuse besides being bullied and forced to work overtime during placement in the Surgery Department at a government hospital on the east coast.

The trainee doctor also attempted to commit suicide twice due to the abuse and after reporting the matter to the deputy director, without any further action was taken.

Commenting further, Zaini said the department held regular meetings, about one to three times a month to listen to their problems and a counselling unit if they needed help or if they have a problem.

In another development, Zaini said he does not rule out the possibility of an increase in daily Covid-19 cases following the Aidilfitri celebration.

“We do not rule out the possibility that there will be an increase (of cases) after the Aidilfitri holiday, in categories one and two, besides we also still maintain beds for Covid-19 patients around 300 beds statewide and 30 beds in the ICU,” he said.

- Bernama