TEN contract doctors from the severely hit Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital (HTAR), Klang have quit over the past three past weeks, submitting 24-hour resignation notices.

Speaking to The Malaysian Insight on condition of anonymity, the doctors cited ‘burnout’, a lack of career opportunities, ‘overload’ and stress as reasons for quitting their jobs on such short notice.

A doctor from the hospital’s emergency department, who tendered her resignation yesterday, said a lack of clarity on contract doctors’ future and traumatising experiences in handling Covid-19 patients had hit her emotions hard, which subsequently led to her decision to quit.

She said the hospital is in critical condition and is unable to handle the influx of Covid-19 patients, who are mostly in Category 4 onwards.

“Most of the patients coming in are in Category 4 and there are some 300 to 400 pending patients under the emergency department alone.

“We are under-treating patients as we lack everything. HTAR cannot manage it!

“Every day, you are posted to take care of Covid-19 patients who are waiting to die. It is just heart-breaking,” she told The Malaysian Insight.

She said during her last shift, she felt hopeless and helpless, witnessing two patients succumb to the disease on wheelchairs.

“We have critically ill patients sitting on wheelchairs as we have no beds.

“(A) few patients should be on high-flow cannula but we have (a) shortage of it and patients are under-treated.

“Too many things. I just feel hopeless and helpless,” she said.

The increasing number of Covid-19 cases has left hospitals in the Klang Valley in dire straits.

Earlier this week, the Hartal Doktor Kontrak group said contract doctors are quitting with 24 hours’ notice due to exhaustion and frustration over the government’s lack of action on their plight.

On Twitter, the group shared screenshots from contract doctors who have decided to throw in the towel as Malaysia continues to grapple with an increased number of Covid-19 cases.

The doctors said there are plenty more who are on the verge of quitting due to their contracts and current Covid-19 situation.

Another doctor from the same hospital and department, who quit a couple of days back, said the Health Ministry’s inaction over their futures and treatment of the contract doctors was the reason he quit.

He said despite being loyal to the government, his services were not appreciated and added that his contract would have been terminated regardless.

“I’ve been loyal to the Ministry of Health, even when my salary was lower than (that of) a houseman.

“My ambition and passion were always emergency medicine, and (I) wanted to be a specialist in emergency.

“But after five years, there is not even a ‘real’ grade promotion for contract doctors. Only grades go up, others remain the same, including salaries. So, we basically have no future… nothing to look forward to, if we continue to stay.”

“Our contract is three plus two years non-renewable. So, even if we don’t quit, we will be kicked-out,” he said.

Now holding secure a job as a general-practitioner, he said that he has to put aside his passion and ambition to put food on the table for his family.

“If we are to do a master’s programme, the requirement is to be a permanent staff member. No way from contract staff.

“The other alternative is to take external professional papers, which will take longer than our five-year contract, and this is not even an option for surgical-based fields.

“How do we feed our families if we have to focus here full time? Now it is a fight for survival to put food on the table. So, we just grab any job opportunity now and leave before being kicked out,” he said.

The doctors also blamed the current ‘incompetent’ movement-control order (MCO) for the spike in cases that is causing stress among the healthcare workers, prompting them to leave their jobs.

A doctor said that most of the medical staff are now drained and claimed that some are at a stage where they require psychiatric support.

“Most of the staff are working double-shifts on a daily basis and they are on the edge… their physical, emotional and mental wellbeing (is being) pushed to the limits. My colleagues are crying every single day.

“The staff really need psychiatric support. They need a little break from time to time. We need more manpower… everybody says that MoH (Ministry of Health) has an oversupply of staff. (This) clearly isn’t true even during the pre-Covid era,” he said. – July 22, 2021.