The cry from a doctor’s heart
Last night, an anonymous reader at 10.23pm told me about Dr. Hsu’s article HERE which highlights the problems which could possibly occur in the future as a result of the sudden increase in the number of medical schools.
In another post HERE, I had also highlighted some problems caused by the changing landscape of health care in Malaysia. This morning, I thought I’d share with you the heartfelt response of a blog reader who is a very dedicated doctor. His response certainly moved me deeply and I hope it gives you a better picture of the predicament faced by doctors in public service.
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I find that perception of healthcare in Malaysia is still very lacking. The ‘spin’ful media have faired brilliantly in masking the truth.
Did you know that the working hours of government doctors is against what’s enshrined in labor laws around the world? Only in Malaysia does the labor law exempt the medical field from FAIR PLAY and DECENT HUMANLY WORKING HOURS, because of necessity. So necessity justifies abuse of doctors? Why OAs march, and lawyers, but not doctors?
Doctors are not allowed to have unions..
JPA scholars who’ve studied medicine locally(more so abroad i should assume!) are bonded 7-10 years with the government, at their mercy..You can be denied promotions and pay increments without an option to appeal, and NO one can survive the complex process, or the time they entail..
Even today,a government medical doctor ONLY earns an overtime wage of RM2.08 per hour(passive on calls) and RM6.25 per hour (if active calls-staying in hospital). U mean for the work, responsibility and care we give whole-heartedly, ALL that we deserve are USD 0.69 cents to USD 2.08 per hour?
And is it ever published in any paper/publication how we still work the next day after on calls, meaning some of us work 24-48-72 hours straight..
