Housing allowance for civil servants to be doubled

Star, 1oth December 2007.

SEREMBAN: The housing allowance for graduate civil servants will be almost doubled from RM210 to RM400 effective Jan 1.
Those in the DG43 and DG44 categories would benefit from this, said Public Service director-general Tan Sri Ismail Adam.
He said graduate civil servants in the DG41 and newly created DG42 categories would see their housing allowance increased from the present RM210 to RM250. The move would benefit an estimated 150,000 civil servants.
“However, this benefit will not include police, prisons, fire and rescue services and armed forces personnel as they have their own schemes,” he said in a circular.
Police officers with the rank of inspectors and chief inspectors now get RM420 for housing allowance. Ismail said the increment would also benefit eligible civil servants in local authorities, statutory bodies and state governments and agencies.
In a separate circular, Ismail said civil servants who were fluent in certain foreign languages would be given a monthly allowance of between RM100 and RM150 if this helped them in carrying out their official duties.
“If they can speak a foreign language, it will certainly benefit our nation which has trade and diplomatic ties with many countries.
“This benefit will be given to Malaysian civil servants based at our missions abroad as well as to those working here and are required to deal with foreigners,” he said. He said the foreign languages were Arab, Mandarin, French, Russian and Spanish.
Ismail said those who had basic knowledge of a foreign language would be paid RM100 while those who were fluent would be given RM150 every month.
“They will have to submit their certificates to their department heads for consideration,” he said.
Cuepacs president Omar Osman said the increase in housing allowance should also be extended to civil servants in the Support Group who now received RM180 in housing allowance every month
“The bulk of the civil service is made up of employees in the Support group. Although we welcome the government’s decision to raise the housing allowance for graduates, why have those in the Support group been left out?” he asked.
Omar said the PSD should increase the housing allowance for this group to RM230.

Rules on nip-and-tucks

Star (23th November 2007).

PUTRAJAYA: To ensure that beauty treatments do not turn ugly, the Health Ministry has drawn up a set of do’s and don’ts on aesthetic medicine.

With immediate effect, private general practitioners are not allowed to carry out procedures such as breast implants, liposuction, eyelid surgery, laser and light-based therapies and hair transplant.

They also cannot deal with unapproved agents, inject non-evidence based products like Vitamin C, placental extract, stem cells and growth hormones.

The list, drawn up following a meeting last month with relevant stakeholders, will be included in the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998 under the director-general’s directive.

A definition of aesthetic medicine has also been drawn up. It states it is a branch of medicine dedicated to creating a harmonious physical and psychological balance using non-invasive and minimally invasive treatment modalities.

The modalities have to be evidence-based and scientifically proven on matters such as the anatomy and skin physiology.

Director-general of health Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican said yesterday that only trained and credentialed personnel could do Botox treatment.

He added that the general practitioners could, with proper credentials and training from a recognised institute, advise on matters such as medical cosmetology, chemical peels, cellulite control, hair removal and nutrition.

“It does not mean the general practitioner has no role but they should be concentrating on procedures which are not invasive,” he said.

He added that because aesthetic medicine was not a recognised medical speciality in Malaysia, the word “aesthetic” was not allowed to be displayed on signboards.

Dr Ismail added that a proposal would be submitted to register specialists in aesthetic practices in the registry being compiled by the Malaysian Medical Council and Academy of Medicine.

He said it was necessary to draw up such guidelines because the ministry was concerned about developments in the field and wanted to keep unscrupulous practices at bay.

“If you want to look pretty, do it the right way. Make sure the right people provide you with the services,” he said.

MMR link.

Move to make sure all doctors have required skills

Star (22nd November 2007)

By AUDREY EDWARDS

PUTRAJAYA: Newly-qualified doctors will have to undergo two years' compulsory housemanship from next year.

Currently, they only have to do a year of housemanship.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek, who announced the Cabinet decision yesterday, said the move was considered important to increase the knowledge, skills and experience of graduate medical officers.

“This will improve the quality of services and healthcare standards,” he said.

A rotation system of four months in six departments will be implemented. With the newest inclusion being the accident and emergency department, the rest are medical, paediatric, general surgery, orthopaedic, obstetrics and gynaecology.

“We have observed that in the past few years, about three to five per cent of graduate medical officers do not get full registration because they have weaknesses in knowledge or skills,” he told reporters before chairing his ministry’s post-Cabinet meeting.

“We cannot let this continue. We hope the move is seen as a positive one by future graduates and we are confident the rakyat (people) will support us.”

After the two-year housemanship, the doctors would have to serve their three years' compulsory service with the Government or its agencies, he said.

Dr Chua said the ministry would apply to the Government to place them under the U43 grade upon completing the two years' housemanship compared to the current U41. The U43 pay scale is RM500 more than U41.

He said the doctors would be able to pursue their specialist courses or Master’s after serving two years' compulsory service compared to the current situation whereby they can only apply to further their studies after three years.

About 1,200 local medical students graduate annually.

Dr Chua also announced the Cabinet’s decision to disallow the future setting up of private cord blood banks because while it was a new service with huge potential to treat specific diseases, there were still ethical issues to be scrutinised.

He said the existing centres would have to apply for a licence from the ministry within the next two months and would be registered under the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998.

MMR link.

eMedicine Case Study

BACKGROUND

A 52-year-old man with no clinically significant medical history presents to the emergency department (ED) with a chief complaint of a “rash” on his penis. The patient states that the rash first appeared 1 week before presentation. He denies any dysuria, urethral discharge, pruritus or pain in the area of the lesion. This is the first time he has had such a rash. He admits to having had several recent sexual partners.

On physical examination, his vital signs are normal. The patient has a well-demarcated, ulcerated lesion on the ventral aspect of his penis (see Image). The lesion is not tender to palpation. No other lesions are noted, and no discharge is observed from the urethra. The findings of his testicular examination are unremarkable, with the exception of bilateral prominent inguinal lymphadenopathy. The remaining physical findings, including the cardiac and abdominal findings, are unremarkable.

What is the diagnosis, and what empiric treatment is necessary?

ANSWER.