THE employment status of contract doctors will be discussed at the upcoming cabinet meeting on Wednesday, said the Malaysian Medical Association.

Dr Vijay Ganasan, the chairman of MMA’s Section Concerning House Officers, Medical Officers and Specialists (Schomos), said this development followed their meetings with Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz on June 25 and with Health Minister Dr Adham Baba last week.

“We had a fruitful meeting compared to the previous meeting. The issue regarding the contract system will be brought up at the next cabinet meeting.

“We would like a resolution to this issue as soon as possible, but we would also like the issue to be tabled in Parliament to find a long-term solution to this problem.

“We hope that this long wait of all contract healthcare workers for improved hiring terms and access to professional development will soon come to an end.

“Selection for permanent posts should also be done at regular intervals and in a transparent manner, with the ranking criteria made known to everyone in advance,” Ganasan said during a joint online press conference held via Zoom.

Also present during the press conference were representatives from the Academy of Medicine Malaysia, Malaysian Health Coalition, Malaysian Dental Association, Medical Practitioners Coalition Association of Malaysia, Malaysian Pharmacists Society, Malaysian Male Nurses Association, Malaysian Medical Assistants Association, Islamic Medical Association of Malaysia, Malaysian Medics International, Malaysian Society of Radiographers, and Malaysian Society of Medical Laboratory Technologists.

Ganasan said the one-year extension offered to contact doctors by the government from December 5, 2021 to December 4, 2022 was not a solution.

“If you’re going to treat an illness, you have to look for the underlying cause and treat it properly. The healthcare system is ill, we need a proper long-term solution,” he said.

The group wants the government to provide clear postgraduate pathways to specialisation for contract healthcare workers, publish a detailed and transparent ranking system for appointment to permanent positions, provide equal and fair treatment for contract and permanent staff whereby benefits and salary should be the same for similar jobs done, and assure job security for all contract healthcare workers.

To that effect, it has started a change.org petition called “Heal the Contract System of Our Malaysian Healthcare Workers” today. The petition is looking for 200 signatures. As of 5.45pm, 113 people have signed the petition.

To highlight what it deemed as an unfair contract doctor system, the MMA also came up with the Code Black Campaign, which ran from July 1 to July 12, culminating in what it called “Black Monday” where doctors were told to go to work as usual wearing black.

MMA president Dr Subramaniam Muniandy, meanwhile, said he was optimistic that contact doctors may get a solution to their problem after the cabinet meeting.

“I’m optimistic that something will come out of it, it’s better than nothing at all.

“Covid-19 is showing us what a shortage of manpower can do. We will do anything with MOH to overcome this dangerous, risky and traumatising thing that is happening today,” he said.

Speaking on the hartal strike organised to support contract doctors, which was supposed to take place on July 26, Muniandy said MMA sympathises with the movement behind the strike but will not condone it, especially now when the country is facing a pandemic.

Meanwhile, Prof Dr Rosmawati Mohamed from the Academy of Medicine of Malaysia added that Malaysia was facing a severe shortage of specialists such as oncologists, nephrologists and anaesthesiologists as junior doctors were not allowed to pursue a specialisation under the contract system.

“Under the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) ranking for countries, there should be 14 specialists to 10,000 people. In Malaysia, there are only four specialists to treat 10,000 people.”

The contract doctor system was first introduced in 2016 as an initial solution to the delayed placement of house officers. Upon joining government service, the junior doctors are given a five-year contract package that consists of a three-year contract with an option of a two-year extension.

However, since 2016, out of 23,077 contract doctors, only 789 have been given permanent positions in public healthcare.

Support for Code Black campaign

Ganasan also said the 12-day Code Black campaign achieved what it set out to do.

It had asked doctors to hold a placard that said “We stand with contract healthcare workers” and post pictures on social media with the hashtags #saveMYcontractHCW, #CodeBlackMY and #BlackMondayMY only.

“Everyone was supposed to dress in black on July 12, but they have dressed in black since day one and have continued to do so.

“Not only doctors, but all other healthcare workers also carried out placards and posted on various social media,” he said, adding that around 15,000 people took part.

He said it was very important to get the public to support them and their cause.

“What is most important is the public. When we see the rakyat applauding us, it is a big booster for us.”

Last week, following the government’s agreement to extend their contracts for a year, The Malaysian Insight sighted a letter from the Health Ministry stating that contract medical officers from the 2016-2019 batch who have finished their housemanship, will be temporarily deployed to health facilities in critical need.

Doctors were told not to wait until matters related to their permanent posting or contract appointments are sorted out and to report to the designated state health departments effective July 8.

The letter dated July 7 bore the signature of the ministry’s human resources division secretary Zainal Alhakab Seman.

He added that the ministry had decided to mobilise the doctors to health facilities with a critical manpower crunch as part of efforts to contain the Covid-19 virus.

Those who report to duty on July 8 will have to serve until January 7, 2022, while the service term for those who begin on July 15 will end on January 14, 2022.

The officers will then have to report to the state health department once their service term ends. – July 12, 2021.