Contract doctors call for new formula on health staffing

 

The government has announced 4,914 new permanent positions but a spokesman for contract doctors says it is not enough.

PETALING JAYA: A group representing contract doctors has called for a revised formula for determining the number of doctors needed in the government health service.

The Hartal Doktor Kontrak movement said that health minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa’s announcement of more permanent positions being made available may not be enough.

Dr Omar Izmir, a spokesman for the movement, said the current government formula was not accurate as it was based on the number of hospital beds and the size of the general population and “does not paint the real picture of what’s happening on the ground”.

“The government should instead figure out the doctor-to-patient ratio in the public sector in a more specific manner, to accurately determine how many doctors the public healthcare sector needs,” he told FMT.

Zaliha had announced earlier today that the health ministry is offering 4,914 permanent posts this year consisting of 4,263 positions for medical officers, 335 for dental officers, and 316 for pharmacists.

It is understood that the Hartal Doktor Kontrak group, which pushes for transparency in the criteria and selection of contract doctors and equal benefits with that of permanent doctors, held a meeting with Zaliha last month.

Hartal Doktor Kontrak member Dr Muhammad Yassin said the meeting covered issues such as permanent positions and the ministry’s long-term plan.

Omar said the health ministry should also address the brain drain from public health. He said the former dean of Universiti Malaya’s medical faculty, Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman, had stated on Twitter that UM loses its best medical graduates every year.

“The latest trend also shows that even those who have permanent positions in the government are leaving for the private sector,” Omar said.

Separately, the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) welcomed Zaliha’s announcement on permanent posts for contract doctors.

MMAs president Dr Muruga Raj Rajathurai said the figure was beyond their expectations and a big step in the right direction towards solving the problem of permanent positions for contract doctors. - FMT