Ruling ‘will not solve shortage of doctors’

The Star, 30th July 2008

PETALING JAYA: Discarding the mandatory three-year service in government hospitals for doctors serving abroad who want to return will not address the shortage in the public sector, said the Malaysian Medical Association.

Its president Datuk Dr Khoo Kah Lin said it would only create an imbalance between the public and private medical sectors.

“It will only open the gate for them to practise in the private sector, causing more imbalance,” he said in a statement on Monday.

“While we agree that the country needs more doctors in government service, there is much dissatisfaction in the sector, causing some 300 to 400 doctors resigning every year to practise privately.”

Dr Khoo added it would also be unfair to local graduates who need to complete three years of compulsory service and two years of housemanship.

Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai recently announced that specialists who have practised overseas for more than 10 years would be exempted from serving three years in government hospitals when they return.

The ruling applied to doctors aged 45 years and above, he said.

Dr Khoo said the reasons for the high rate of resignation included heavy workload, poor working conditions and low remuneration.

“The MMA would propose for these aspects to be improved, including creating more promotional posts, hastening the promotion process and revision of on-call allowance, specialist allowance and hardship allowance for doctors in rural areas,” he added.

Not enough specialised nurses to go around

Not enough specialised nurses to go around
By AUDREY EDWARDS

The Star, 26th July 2008

KUALA LUMPUR: The shortage of nurses in Malaysia has caused several wards and intensive care units in newer hospitals to remain closed.

Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said among the hospitals affected included those in Serdang, Sungai Buloh, Ampang and Sungai Petani.

“Many new hospitals are not able to open wards, intensive care units and operating theatres, which need a lot of post basic nurses,” he told reporters after opening the 2nd Universiti Malaya Medical Centre Nursing Congress 2008 yesterday.

He said that as of March this year, only 85.9% of the 42,476 staff nurse posts had been filled, while 6,004 posts remained vacant.

“The need for specialised nurses is growing with increasing specialisation of medical practice,” he said.

There were 11 areas which lacked nurses with post basic training. These included intensive care, coronary care, neo-natal care, paediatric care and emergency and traumatology, he said.

Only between 30% and 40% of nurses working in the 11 areas have been given the necessary post-basic training.

In addition to this, there are also new specialist nursing areas like HIV counselling, genetic counselling and neuro-radiology intervention.

Liow added that 27 nurses from India would arrive next month following the Cabinet’s approval last year to recruit 1,300 nurses from Asean and Commonwealth countries over a period of three years.

There are currently 73,613 nurses of all categories and grades in Malaysia where 78% worked with the ministry and the rest were in the private and non-ministry sectors.

Training is being done at 17 nursing colleges under the ministry, producing about 3,500 diploma nurses yearly while private colleges have also been roped in to help.

Asked about investigations against the doctor who conducted the botched cosmetic surgery on former Labuan MP Datuk Suhaili Abdul Rahman’s wife Datin Fatimah Wan Chik who is now in a coma, Liow said he was waiting for the report to be presented to him.

Government offers perks for doctors

By EMBUN MAJID

The Star, 25th July 2008

ALOR STAR: The Health Ministry spends about RM400mil a year on human development programmes which include scholarships for doctors and nurses to further their studies.

Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said this provided doctors and nurses an opportunity to improve themselves.

Centre of attention: Kedah Sultanah Tuanku Haminah Hamidun, accompanied by Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah (partially hidden beside her), playing with baby Khairunisa Dayana during their visit to the Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital in Alor Star yesterday. With them is Liow (left).

“This is one of the benefits provided by the ministry for Malaysian doctors who are working in the country, and we hope this will attract Malaysian doctors working abroad to return home,” he said.

Liow said this when asked to comment on a statement by Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Mohd Johari Baharum that 236 medical graduates studying overseas under Public Service Department scholarships refused to return home to work.

Mohd Johari was quoted by a Malay newspaper yesterday as saying that the Government spent nearly RM1mil to provide overseas training for each doctor.

He said the Government had no other choice but to take legal action against graduates who refuse to return home.

Liow, met after the opening of the Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital by Kedah Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah here yesterday, said the ministry was working closely with the Human Resources Ministry to get medical graduates to return.

He said the two ministries had set up a one-stop centre that would have a database of Malaysians working abroad as doctors or studying medicine overseas.

“There is about 40% vacancy for doctors at hospitals in the country, and I hope medical graduates will return home to serve the people,” Liow said.

The RM552mil hospital, which was built to replace the Alor Star Hospital, began operations on July 23 last year.