Stop giving false hope to contract doctors

 

More than 3,500 permanent posts are available to contract doctors this year, but a greater number will miss out.

More than 8,000 contract doctors were interviewed recently to fill 3,586 permanent posts available in the medical service. This means only 44% of them will be successful, bringing heartache to the thousands not chosen.

The intake may help reduce the number of doctors in contract positions – which now stands at about 23,000 – but will be quickly offset by the 3,000-odd doctors entering service every year after their houseman training.

But as former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin told them, the government simply cannot offer all of them permanent posts.

If each permanent doctor is paid RM5,000 a month, it will cost the government RM1.2 billion a year to convert all current contract doctors. The government then has to pay 17% of their basic salary into their pension and gratuity funds, adding another RM200 million a year.

This bill will only grow as 3,000 to 4,000 new doctors enter the service annually.

The first and second batches of contract doctors since Malaysia switched to the controversial system have already seen their initial terms extended. How much longer this will go on is anyone’s guess.

Come mid-April, 4,400 contract doctors who miss out on permanent positions must wait another year before they can apply again – probably joined by many of those who were rejected last year. It looks like this is a cycle that is not going to end.

According to the Section Concerning House Officers, Medical Officers and Specialists (Schomos) of the Malaysian Medical Association, there is a lack of transparency in the selection process.  Despite what leaders have said about the intake being merit-based, some applicants have been rejected even though they are more qualified and accomplished than those selected.

To improve the system, Schomos has submitted to the ministry a scoring system  where points are given for the doctors’ work performance, commitment to continuing professional development, willingness to serve in rural areas and leadership qualities.

Pakatan Harapan, which is the lead partner in the unity government, must be scratching its head over how to make good on its election promise to resolve the issue.

The reality is that Malaysia doesn’t have the finances or demand for doctors to do so. Overproduction of doctors happens in many countries, and most do not guarantee them a government job after they obtain their full practising certificate.

Where do we go from here?

Well, a little bit of honesty will help a great deal. Political parties, whether in power or the opposition, should not make empty pre-election promises about permanent positions for contract doctors, knowing such a promise is impossible to fulfil. There are simply not enough funds and hospitals to employ them.

There has to be absolute honesty on the government’s part when telling these doctors that while it will try to absorb as many of them as possible, the financial implications are too huge to offer permanent posts to all.

There are currently over 30 medical schools in Malaysia, far too many for a relatively small country. There is an urgent need to regulate and relook the number of doctors being produced.

On the doctors’ part, they must do away with threats of strikes as it was their choice to pursue this profession.  The government does not owe them a living. Putrajaya only needs to provide the houseman training necessary for them to secure annual practising certificates.  There is no obligation to absorb them after that.

Whether doctors like it or not, this glut will only worsen unless they are brave enough to enter the private sector.

As with most other professions, they cannot depend on the government for a living any more. Those choosing a medical career in the future should be prepared for this reality and not blame the government if they cannot be employed permanently.

The faster they realise this, the better for them, their families and the nation. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.