THE Health Ministry should set up a special committee to probe the death of a houseman at the Penang Hospital, Chow Kon Yeow said.  

The Penang chief minister said this is crucial to identify the cause of the incident.  

“This committee should be established to identify the cause of the incident and prevent similar cases in the future, especially involving trainee doctors,” he said in a brief statement on his Facebook page today.

Yesterday, the Penang Health Department said the death of a houseman is being investigated by the police.

Its director, Dr Ma’arof Sudin, said police have ordered a post-mortem to be conducted, which will be performed at the Forensic Department in Penang Hospital.

The houseman had died after falling from an office building in Jalan Dato Keramat, George Town.

Police are investigating the case as sudden death but could reclassify it if fresh evidence comes to light. 

The houseman had been posted to the hospital just three weeks ago. 

DAP lawmakers have also called on the authorities to investigate the matter and provide a clear explanation on the incident.  

Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii said the Penang Hospital management and the Health Ministry must take responsibility and provide an explanation. 

He said a transparent investigation must be conducted into the matter to ensure any toxic practices against any of the healthcare workers are curbed. 

“This cannot be dismissed as a ‘common practice or culture’ and swept under the carpet,” he said. 

“The Health Ministry must launch an immediate and transparent investigation into the death of a houseman at the Penang Hospital.”

Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P. Ramasamy said the death of the houseman could have been avoided if the administration had taken a serious look into the pervasive bullying of young trainee doctors. 

He said it is a shame that the Health Ministry is not addressing the practice of bullying and shaming of trainee doctors. 

“The so-called sudden death of a houseman or trainee doctor at the Penang Hospital has brought to fore appalling conditions of training at the hospital as well as other government hospitals in the country,” he said in a statement. 

“The police might label the death by suicide as ‘sudden death’, but there must be investigations into what led to the death.

“It cannot be dismissed as sudden death because there are allegations of bullying and harassment of trainee doctors at the Penang Hospital.” – May 5, 2022.