Report bullying via official channels, not through media, MMA tells doctors
Doctors must respect due process by reporting incidents of bullying using official channels, said Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) president Dr Azizan Abdul Aziz.
She urged public healthcare doctors to either lodge a report via the Public Complaints Management System (SISPAA), the Ministry of Health’s (MoH) MyHelp portal, MMA’s HelpDoc, or make a police report, rather than seek justice via trial by media.
She said while it was troubling to see poison pen letters circulating on social media, the MoH needed to look into the reasons why its doctors were taking to other means such as social media to be heard.
“One likely reason is a lack of trust in the system. For victims of workplace bullying, every moment endured is significant and it can be disheartening when reports on bullying are met with sluggish responses and minimal action, which can result in perpetrators evading consequences,” Dr Azizan said in a statement.
Citing a bullying incident which happened to a group of doctors from a Sabah public hospital in September last year, Dr Azizan said the doctors had used MMA’s HelpDoc channel to report “what appeared to be a clear-cut case of bullying involving specialists and several medical officers”.
She said MMA had appropriately relayed the matter to the MoH and was duly informed that the case was being investigated.
“However, the same complainants recently contacted MMA to report that the bullying has not stopped. This could mean that something is not right with the system,” she said.
In this regard, Dr Azizan called on MoH to establish standard operating procedures (SOPs) in the reporting and management of bullying cases, and establish a timeline to complete investigations and resolve cases.
“The MoH should also look into limiting certain powers given to heads of departments and hospital directors to allow for a fair hearing of bullying cases, and include independent panel members in its integrity unit for a fair hearing of bullying cases,” she said.
Dr Azizan also said MoH’s establishment of the Healthcare Work Culture Improvement Taskforce in 2022 to review the work culture in public healthcare was a step in the right direction.
However, she said there was no follow through with the implementation of any of its recommendations, which the government needed to explain why especially if it involved taxpayers’ money.
She also said MMA had put forward numerous solutions to combat bullying, but none were adopted.
“Many of our proposals didn’t even entail any additional expenditure of public funds. One suggestion was to hold hospital directors and department heads accountable for any cases of bullying. Bullying poses a grave risk to both patient and healthcare worker safety and must be treated with the utmost seriousness.
“We applaud the Health Minister for stating his strong stand against bullying and hope that there will soon be engagement on the matter as there is an urgent need for systemic changes to ensure a safe and supportive environment for all healthcare professionals.”
Dr Azizan said public healthcare workforce morale was currently “at an all-time low” given the five-year trend of resignations amongst contract doctors and specialists in public healthcare.
Failing to effectively address bullying will undoubtedly exacerbate this issue, she pointed out.
She urged MoH to take advantage of MMA’s Rights and Responsibilities of Government Doctors Seminar, which will be held in Melaka on April 20 as an opportunity to engage with government doctors and address any of their concerns.
The seminar, held annually since 2008, includes talks by top MoH officials on the rights and responsibilities of public healthcare doctors.