Dr Kelvin Yii
KUCHING (May 29): Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii has called for a holistic approach to resolve the issue of inadequate manpower at public healthcare facilities in the country.
This comes after the Malaysians Medical Association (MMA) in a recent ad hoc poll found that only five per cent of the public healthcare facilities have adequate manpower, with nearly half of respondents saying that shortages are due to doctors quitting or being transferred out.
“We may have to admit that there is indeed a ‘haemorrhage’ of doctors and other medical professionals including nurses in our public healthcare system.
“If we do not stop the bleeding, not only our healthcare system be compromised, but it will also affect the quality of care provided for our patients in the country,” he said in a press statement.
Dr Yii emphasised that while the government can always build hospitals with bricks and mortar, it is the medical work force that is needed to run these hospitals.
“We are at where we are today due to certain unfavourable policies and a culmination of years of frustration with low pay, poor working conditions, and unclear career pathways in the public health service.
“That is where we need to have a holistic approach to this matter including short-term and long-term healthcare human resource planning, which needs to be tailored to meet the specific needs of the population,” he added.
In the short-term, Dr Yii suggested promoting conducive and supportive working environments and ensuring that any form of harassment or even bullying is not tolerated.
“For that to happen, the current feedback mechanism must be improved, properly used as a anonymous direct channel to report incidents, and more importantly, seen to have actions taken to effectively address the concerns raised,” he added.
Additionally, he said the mechanism of distribution and transfer of medical personnel around the country should be improved and made more transparent.
“There could be an open data system where Ministry of Health (MoH) shows the need of each medical workers in each State and implementing a better transfer mechanism and support for those that need to transfer out.
“This will help reduce the frustrations and issues faced by those that needs to be transferred out and thus reducing the rate of resignations as well,” he stressed.
While Dr Yii welcomed the recent announcement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on the revision of civil servants’ salary, he also hoped that the government would consider revising allowances, including on-call allowances for the medical staff.
“They need to feel appreciated and to ensure their earnings are competitive to the private sector to incentivise them to remain in the public service where about 70 per cent of our population gets their treatment,” he added.
Besides that, Dr Yii said career progression and talent development should be developed including giving proper recognition to the parallel pathways to complement the Master’s programmes in the local universities.
“This is to ensure that Malaysian doctors are given an unencumbered opportunity to specialise further as physicians that ultimately cater to the Malaysian population,” he added.
As for the long-term, Dr Yii said the MoH may need to study the need for a separate public healthcare services commission to manage the human resources in the healthcare system.
“This is to allow for more flexible decision-making when it comes to how human resource, staff development and talent is managed in the public healthcare system,” he added.
