We’re losing potential young doctors
THE housemen placement woes due to a glut of medical graduates in Malaysia could be a paradox.
Although the World Health Organisation prescribes a doctor-population ratio of 1:1,000, many developed countries maintain higher ratios, mainly to cater to ageing citizens. France has a ratio of 3.227:1,000, Germany 4.125:1,000, United States 2.554:1,000 and Singapore 2.2:1,000.
According to Malaysia’s Health Ministry in 2017, Malaysia lacks doctors, as our ratio is only at 1.6:1,000. If our intention is to become a developed nation in 2025, why are we regressing by limiting the growing number of doctors?
The root cause of the housemen placement issue is the lack of public healthcare training facilities where the young doctors can complete their training.
Based on the Health Ministry’s report in 2017, as of Dec 31, 2016, there were 144 government hospitals with an estimated 42,000 beds. In addition, there were 187 private hospitals contributing to the additional estimate of 14,000 beds, to make the total number of beds 56,000. Sadly, the number works out to only to 1.77 beds per 1,000 patients in comparison with Singapore, which plans to further improve its current 2.5 beds per 1,000 patients to match the United States, which has 2.8 beds per 1,000 patients. These numbers clearly indicate the need to increase Malaysia’s healthcare facilities.
In 2016, the Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia’s president Datuk Dr Jacob Thomas said he was against the proposal to place housemen in private hospitals due to a myriad issues, such as medico-legal indemnity, supervision and specialist remunerations.
Without support from the private sector, the Malaysian Medical Council and Health Ministry are left to find solutions on their own. The measures to shorten waiting periods for housemen training, increasing housemen training slots and limiting the number of medical graduates are merely temporary solutions to clearing the growing list of housemen waiting for placement.
Meanwhile, all this is causing us to lose potentially talented doctors. According to a report by the Penang Institute in 2017, the prolonged wait of five months to receive a posting confirmation causes medical graduates a great deal of anxiety. Many are heavily indebted due to servicing study loans, yet unless they seek out parttime employment, they are left with no means of income.
In addition, the long waiting period does not help housemen to be professionally and mentally prepared for the challenges that they are bound to face during training. They also risk losing touch with the knowledge and skills acquired during their years of study. As we speak, about 20% of housemen each year do not complete the two-year training stint.
Despite the exorbitant course fees imposed on medical studies and these current issues, parents are still willing to sacrifice life savings and mortgage their properties to see their children graduate with a noble MD or MBBS.
Will this situation shatter the belief of these Malaysian parents that a medical degree will secure a child’s future?
We need a healthy healthcare industry to keep us healthy. As Winston Churchill said, “Healthy citizens are the greatest asset any country can have”.