JUNIOR doctors want the Health Ministry to act firmly against those who bully, harass and intimidate trainee doctors in the government service.

They added that the government must improve the working conditions and address workplace bullying.

They welcomed the move by Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin to form a task force to look into the death of a houseman in Penang as well as into claims of bullying.

A junior doctor in Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL), who spoke to The Malaysian Insight on condition of anonymity, said bullying was common at work.

He said that most bullies got away with it and that the task force must seek to punish the culprits.

He said many victims were afraid to report bullying to the heads of departments (HODs) for fear of repercussions.

“We, the junior housemen, are posted to a department for only a few months but the medical officers, senior nurses and the specialist will be there for years.

“So when we complain of bullying, the HODs may not take action because we will eventually leave but they will remain.

“Such a situation encourages the bullies to continue. So the task force must be fair to all and must not fear punishing those proven to be bullies,” he said.

He said penalties could prevent bullying from recurring.

Earlier, junior doctors who spoke to The Malaysian Insight said bullying was normal in government hospitals.

On Friday, Khairy said that the ministry would form an independent task force to investigate the case of a junior doctor who fell to his death.

He said the unit would also probe into alleged bullying among trainee doctors in government service.

A 25-year-old houseman died after falling from an office building in Penang, on April 17.

The deceased started work at Penang Hospital on April 4.

A junior doctor in Malacca said the task force must penalise the bullies.

“Penalise them so that they get blacklisted from pursuing a masters programme for a duration of a year, pay compensation to the victim,” she said.

She said there was no need to name and shame.

Permanent task force 

Another trainee doctor in Sungai Buloh Hospital, who wished to be known as Joe, said the task force must work to stop bullying.

“(The bullying) is a process of revenge because they want the juniors to go through what they did.

“If we can put a complete stop to this then we can have a better working environment,” Joe said.

Joe, who claimed to be a victim himself, said the bullying also came from senior nurses.

“There are some medical officers who are afraid of the senior nurses, who don’t give the slightest respect to the fact that we are doctors.

“All they see are students who are here to burden them,” he said.

The junior doctors said the task force must include personnel from various hospitals, the Public Services Commission of Malaysia, human rights groups, medical experts and lawyers.

Joe said the task force should be permanent.

“Bullying is happening everywhere and will not stop with the resolution of this one case. The task force should remain and it should be independent,” Joe said.

“We must have people who are independent, professional, able to speak the truth and transparent, not those who want to keep things under wraps for the sake of the good name of the government,” he added.

Improving working conditions

Joe asked the the ministry to establish a system for anonymous bullying complaints.

“This could help to deter not only bullying but also matters of sexual harassment,” he said.

The junior doctor at HKL suggested regular counselling sessions for healthcare workers to share their concerns and problems.

“Victims of bullying are under mental stress and could make drastic decisions.

“For example, the junior who jumped off the building could have been going through a hard time but had no one to share the problem with.

The junior doctor said most trainee doctors were also physically exhausted.

“With such long working hours, we literally have no time for ourselves, leading to a poor work-life balance.

“On top of that, there is bullying by seniors, which is really depressing. Counselling sessions could be really useful.” – May 8, 2022.