At town hall meeting, minister vows to address house officers’ woes

 

Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa has promised that her ministry will work towards resolving several recurring issues plaguing medical officers in the country, such as cases of bullying in government hospitals.

The promise is one of the outcomes of a town hall meeting between the minister and the ministry’s junior doctors in Putrajaya today.

“Overall, the issues that arise were not discussed in detail. However, the minister said there were several issues that can be resolved immediately such as bullying, while other issues will take time to fix,” said Malacca Hospital medical officer Dr Mohamad Firdaus Omar when met after the meeting.

Meanwhile, contract doctor Dr Nurul Qashira Mohd Izlan said Zaliha (above) also expressed her wish to make the selection of doctors for permanent postings more transparent.

“The minister is a good listener and truly heard what we put forward, and we were informed that the minister will tighten the selection of permanent doctors to avoid appointing doctors who don’t qualify,” she said.

She added that the oversupply of contract doctors was also raised during the town hall session, but the doctors were told that civil service appointments need approval from the Public Service Department.

Another issue raised at the meeting was improvements for government hospital facilities, said Shah Alam Hospital contract doctor Dr B Abirami.

“However, the Health Ministry said improvements to hospital facilities would depend on the budget that would be tabled.

“So, we really hope that the budget tabling on Friday would bring joy to the nation’s health sector,” he said.

‘Dialogue a good start’

Meanwhile, the Hartal Doktor Kontrak (HDK) movement welcomed Zaliha’s readiness to meet with doctors serving the country.

An HDK spokesperson who asked to be identified as Dr Syed said the dialogue was a good start and expressed hope it would bring several issues to a close.

“It was a good meeting between the minister, the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA), and doctors in general. Many issues were put forward and the minister promised to try to investigate and resolve the issues raised, and this is a good start,” he told Malaysiakini.

Syed said some of the issues raised include allowances for doctors who are on-call, bullying, criteria for appointing permanent doctors, overcrowding in emergency departments, dilapidated facilities, and more.

Meanwhile, in a statement, the Health Ministry reaffirmed its readiness to address the longstanding issues.

“With the suggestions and feedback obtained, the minister will work towards tackling the issues whether in terms of policy or technicities involving the Health Ministry,” it said.

This evening’s dialogue session went on for more than two hours at the Health Ministry’s headquarters in Putrajaya and was jointly organised with the MMA.

More than 400 medical officers including permanent medical officers, those on contract, and graduate medical officers.

The town hall session was held after HDK complained that Zaliha had yet to engage with contract healthcare workers in her ministry more than two months since her appointment, whereas her predecessor Khairy Jamaluddin had done it 26 days after his appointment in 2021.

In 2021, HDK also held a nationwide strike to draw attention to the plight of doctors working on a contract basis for the government.

Such doctors risked not having their contracts renewed after their five-year term. It also lacked the benefits enjoyed by their colleagues who obtain permanent positions, including opportunities to further their studies and specialise. - Mkini