PUTRAJAYA needs to increase its allocation for health under Budget 2023 to address the chronic and widespread problem of an overworked public healthcare workforce, the Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy said.

Its chief executive, Azrul Mohd Khalib, urged the government to also form a multisectoral taskforce and to look into the recruitment of overseas health staff to meet the pressing need.

“CodeBlue’s findings from its survey among Malaysian healthcare workers reconfirmed what we have known previously. That our healthcare professionals including nurses, doctors, specialists and medical assistants are underpaid, overworked, overstretched, working in facilities that are increasingly congested with patients, and facing extremely difficult workplace conditions. This was described in the Auditor-General’s 2018 report,” Azrul said.

“The people who work on the frontlines of healthcare are our greatest asset and are key to delivering high-quality care. They have shown remarkable resilience and commitment. Yet their concerns appear to not be taken seriously. Many of the recently proposed solutions to the congestion in emergency and trauma departments are seen as stop-gap measures. Most have already been tried, tested and have at times failed because they depend on having sufficient staff,” he added.

Azrul also said that even before the Covid-19 pandemic, emergency and trauma departments had been described as war zones.

The pandemic, he said, had exacerbated these long-term concerns, weakened parts of the country’s healthcare system and caused permanent damage.

“There is excessive workload, burnout amid widespread anxiety, trauma and mental fatigue, which are causing many staff to decide to leave, causing shortages, and increasing pressure on staff, thus creating a vicious cycle.”

“In some hospitals today, people are waiting between 24 hours and several days for a bed,” Azrul said.

“Healthcare workers are still doing 30-hour shifts. Many, especially junior doctors, housemen and medical officers, return home physically and mentally wrecked and exhausted. Some have been involved in accidents and car crashes. Tragically, some have even lost their lives as a result,” said Azrul.

Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa recently said the ministry was looking at the latest data and conducting audits and research in relation to the workload and overcrowding of emergency and trauma departments nationwide, especially in specialist hospitals, to identify problems faced by the department. 

She said the Health Ministry had consistently put forth efforts to address the issue by holding discussions as well as requesting funds and additional staff from the government to overcome the issues of lack of financial allocation and shortage of manpower, equipment and infrastructure. 

Zaliha added that the overcrowding issue had also been reported in the Auditor-General’s Report 2018 that was published on June 24, 2019, which stated that the causes contributing to the congestion were insufficient allocations, a shortage of health personnel and a lack of facilities to meet patients’ needs. – February 4, 2023.