THE Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) is urging Putrajaya to offer permanent positions to junior doctors instead of just offering them a two-year contract, which will not be renewed.

The chairman of the SCHOMOS arm under the MMA, Dr Kevin Ng Wei Shan said they met Health Minister Dr Adham Baba and his deputy, Dr Noor Azmi, last Tuesday to share their suggestions on resolving the issue surrounding the fate of contract medical officers (MO).

“We will continue to engage the government of the day to do justice for our junior doctors by promoting them to grade U43 and to offer them permanent medical officer positions by increasing the number of permanent positions in the ministry,” Ng told The Malaysian Insight.

“We should also consider extending contracts in the interim to allow these junior doctors the chance to progress in their careers to specialise while awaiting the increase in positions which may take a few years to materialise,” he said.

The issue on hand is that on March 16, a group of MOs from the May 15, 2017 cohort received letters from the Health Ministry informing them of the final renewal of their contracts for another two years.

They were told that there will be no extension to the contracts, effective from May 15 to May 14, 2022.This has put many of these MOs in a tight spot, prompting the MMA to urge the government to correct the situation.

According to MMA’s estimates, only 13% to 15% of the total of 4,500 junior doctors recruited in 2017, and belonging to the first cohort, were offered permanent positions.

As for doctors appointed in the May 2017 and July 2017 cohorts, they have only been offered contracts.

“In this point in time, this is a very demoralising situation as these junior medical officers have been forced to answer the call for personnel in the front-line in the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic.”

The government’s current position would also result in the loss of an entire generation of doctors with many talented ones among them, Ng said.

“The shortage of specialists will be seen in the future as this reduces the pool available for specialisation.

“Shortage of trained doctors with repeated replacements by junior doctors will lead to a delay in the implementation of universal health coverage due to insufficient manpower,” he added.

Welfare of junior doctors

One affected MO described the move as an injustice to them.

She said the initial plan was for them to be offered permanent positions based on three criteria – annual performance assessment, houseman posting assessment marks and the possession of a specialist entry exam with a mark of 0 to 7.

This, however, is not the case, she said, adding that the juniors had hoped a merit-based decision would have been fair to everyone.

“In two years, it will be our batch that will be ready to join the main team and in another two years, to join as specialists.

“This latest development will leave a gap,” she said, adding that this reflects a lack of advance planning on the ministry’s part.”

Meanwhile, director-general of health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a press conference on Monday that the issue pertaining the MOs cropped up even before the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We are trying our best to solve the problem with the Public Service Department in terms of permanent posts or contract posts,” he said.

In another development, the MMA is also undertaking various measures to help the junior doctors in the Covid-19 frontline, including by sourcing accommodation for them.

“We are in contact with the director of Hospital Sg Buloh, Dr Kuldip Kaur, and she has assured us that the hospital will provide lodging for the doctors, as well as transport from their hostels to the hospital.”

Other measures to ensure their safety include the compulsory training of proper safety procedures for personal-protective equipment use and other safety protocols, said Ng.

“Food has also been sourced for the front-liners and despite the challenging situation, the hospital is ready and doing its utmost to ensure the safety of all healthcare workers.”

MMA will also be assisting the doctors in Kuala Lumpur and Sungai Buloh hospitals to ensure that their welfare is cared for during this pandemic, he said.

“As seen by the current pandemic, we are understaffed and overworked as the services have been stretched for too long,” Ng added. – March 24, 2020.