Dr Yii calls for clearer picture on doctors contract issue

The Ministry of Health ( MOH) should make clear their plans to resolve the contract issue among healthcare workers in the country, including proper distributions and placements in places of urgent need especially in Sabah and Sarawak, says Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii.

He pointed out that this includes the ministry’s plan for the medical officers who were offered a six-month contract extension in April but until now are unsure of their future especially as the next deadline is fast approaching.

“For the upcoming July parliamentary session, I have submitted questions to the Ministry of Health for the government’s plans to resolve the issue of contracts among healthcare workers as well as for them to clarify transparently on the selection criteria for medical officers and also where they would be posted especially for urgentneeds areas in Sabah and Sarawak,” he informed in a statement Wednesday.

Dr Yii recalled that at the beginning of the year, MOH offered 102 permanent positions for medical officers from all over Malaysia, all of whom will be posted in Sarawak.

“While I welcome such a move to address the needs of doctors here especially in the rural areas in Sarawak, I believe MOH should reveal that how many of the 102 positions were actually offered to Sarawakians?”

Dr Yii noted that over the years, many Peninsular Malaysian doctors have been transferred to Sarawak and even though they were dedicated and diligent in serving in Sarawak, in most cases, these arrangements were not permanent and they were eventually transferred back to their home states after their two-year compulsory service with the government, or because they wanted to be closer to their family or other legitimate reasons.

“That is why since then, I have urged the ministry to prioritise Sarawakians when making the new offers, especially if they are to eventually be posted in Sarawak, to address the urgent needs of doctors here in the state, especially in the rural areas on a long-term basis.

“There are still many Sarawakians doctors or even healthcare workers that are serving in the state but yet to be offered a permanent posting,” he said.

Dr Yii believes that the core issue that the ministry needs to address is actually the ‘intake’ criteria or criteria of selection in choosing who gets the permanent position and who continues on contract.

“The whole selection can be more transparent so that there is not only greater certainty in selection, but also to remove any ‘perception’ of favouritism, biasness or even discrimination in selection.

“If the criteria were more transparent and ‘certain’, then the junior doctors can be better prepared and know for certain what they need to work for in order to achieve their target in obtaining a permanent posting. This may resolve a lot of the uneasiness and feeling of being underappreciated that they are feeling now,” he said.

Dr Yii pointed out that the best way to appreciate medical front liners, especially for their service to the country during this pandemic, is to invest in them and give them better security of tenure and of course a chance for them to further specialise in their desired Masters Programme.

He further noted that one of the things this pandemic has revealed was the importance of reforms in healthcare priorities especially systemic financing to healthcare.

He said that core investment into healthcare is really needed not just to deal with the current pandemic, but also for future outbreak of diseases.

“This involves investment into human resources, the core of the healthcare system. It is healthcare workers that save patients, and it is into them we must prioritise our investment.

“Investment into the health of our nation will also translate into the wealth of our nation,” he added.