Kota Kinabalu: Allowing public-sector specialists to take on locum work and implementing “flexi-day” arrangements could help keep vascular surgeons in government service, said Chairman of Vascular Disease Awareness Campaign Datuk Dr. Benjamin Leong Dak Keung.
Benjamin said that the Health Ministry had introduced such initiatives in response to the movement of public sector specialists into private practice, allowing doctors to continue serving public hospitals while earning additional income.
He said this during the opening of the Vascular Disease Awareness Campaign at Queen Elizabeth Hospital II, Damai here on Monday.
“The attrition rate of public doctors to the private has happened throughout the country. The Ministry also tries to come up with initiatives to keep the specialist in service, such as allowing the practice of locum, and giving us what it’s called ‘flexi day’,”he said.
Benjamin, who is the head of the Vascular Surgery Subspecialty under the Health Ministry said that vascular surgeons could gain professional satisfaction from treating complex cases and seeing patients recover, which could not always be measured financially.
“Sometimes there are things that money cannot buy, such as successfully treating a patient or managing a complex case. That kind of professional satisfaction is something money cannot buy,” he said.
He said doctors could consider balancing public-sector service with some private-sector locum work, allowing them to continue contributing to the public health system while earning additional income.
Benjamin added he was encouraged by the growing interest among general surgeons in pursuing vascular surgery, with five to seven new trainees entering the subspecialty annually over the past two years compared with one to two previously.
He said having more vascular surgeons would help provide more accessible vascular care to patients, including those in Sabah.