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KUALA LUMPUR – Concerns are being raised at the prospect of a mass nationwide strike and resignations involving contract doctors next month, with groups urging the government to step up in resolving the longstanding demands, and warning of dire consequences for patients.
The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) said the strike would breach implicit social contracts between doctors and patients, ultimately negating the former’s public declarations of service, codes, and principles of ethics.
Its president Mohideen Abdul Kader warned that it will create numerous problems for patients, such as wasted transportation costs, treatment delays, prolonged suffering, irreversible health damage, drug interruptions, and death.
“The strike would affect the weakest and most vulnerable segments of the population, such as senior citizens and young children,” he said in a statement today.
“Therefore, is it ethical for doctors to resort to strike for material gain?”
Mohideen was referring to an Instagram post by an account named “Mogok Doktor Malaysia” (Malaysian Doctors on Strike), which announced a possible strike from April 3 to 5.
In the post, the group requested Malaysians against visiting public hospitals and clinics on the aforementioned dates as over 8,000 contract doctors are set to participate in a strike, leading to a longer waiting time.
The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) yesterday said the planned strike by a contract doctor group as reported should not come as a surprise to the government as the frustration felt by these doctors has gone way past the limits.
Stressing that it does not condone a strike as a means to get the government to address their issues, its president Dr Muruga Raj Rajathurai said it is understandable why the route is being taken.
“Past and present governments have not been able to address the contract doctor issues and they feel they are getting nowhere. It is hard for them to go about their duties with this feeling of uncertainty,” he said in a statement.
The MMA however urged the group not to proceed with the strike as it can affect patient care at public healthcare facilities and cause colleagues to take on additional responsibilities at our already overcrowded public healthcare facilities.
“At the same time, we urge the government to speed up their delivery on promises to help the contract doctors. The contract doctors have waited too long. Let's work towards solutions now before there is more brain drain,” he said.
He stressed that the health ministry (MoH) and the government of the day must take full responsibility for outcomes in the event of a strike, although the contract doctor issues are inherited and are a result of failed policies of the past.
Demands are ‘complicated’, will require time
Meanwhile, Mohideen also cited media reports stating the group’s demands, which include absorbing all contract medical officers into permanent positions without conditions or interviews, increasing basic salaries and on-call rates, and resolving the shortage of medical staff.
Its ultimatum also included the reduction of medical officers’ compulsory service terms to three years.
He also said the group wanted to have on-call hours reduced to six times a month, and work hours to not exceed 60 hours a week.
In response to this, Mohideen reminded the strikers to consider that over 70% of the Malaysian population does not have means of supplementary financial coverage for medical treatment, besides existing tax-funded healthcare coverage provided by the government.
He added that the government has responded to requests and issues raised by healthcare workers, while assuring that their grievances will be addressed in due time, according to the country’s economic capabilities.
He also said that the contract doctors’ demands are complicated, and will require time before they are met.
As such, he urged them to give the government the time needed to solve current issues and refrain from making “hasty” decisions. – The Vibes, March 30, 2023