KUALA LUMPUR: Three years after the first Hartal Doktor Kontrak (HDK) strike, efforts to give contract medical officers permanent positions are trickling and laced with bureaucracy leading to more future specialists leaving the government service.
An HDK spokesman said that while recent government efforts to address the contract medical officer's concerns are a step in the right direction, they come after years of neglect and disappointment, causing many fellow doctors to feel disillusioned and insecure, leading them to seek opportunities elsewhere.
"The recent moves to transition contract doctors to permanent roles are appreciated, but for many, it's too little, too late. Adding to the frustration are bureaucratic hurdles that seem to only complicate matters further, such as requiring doctors to resign before being considered for permanent positions.
"It's these kinds of roadblocks that chip away at our morale and make us question the system we've dedicated our lives to serving," he said to the New Straits Times.
He added that since 2016 when the contract system was introduced, the doctors have been grappling with unfair treatment, from unequal access to study opportunities and leaves to limited chances for career advancement.
Last week, the Health Ministry said a total of 3,046 contract medical officers resigned between 2021 and 2023.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dzulkefly Ahmad said over 1,100 medical officers did not report for duty for permanent positions last year.
He also revealed that between 2019 and 2023, the government had already appointed a total of 9,822 medical officers to permanent positions and would be appointing another 6,000 throughout 2024 and 2025.
The spokesman said as more doctors leave the public healthcare system, there would be a growing gap in the services for the public.
"It's a worrying trend that puts the health and well-being of our fellow citizens at risk. If we're serious about tackling this crisis, we need to find ways to bring back those who've left and offer meaningful incentives to those who remain.
"We urge the government to listen to our voices, engage in honest dialogue, and work together towards real solutions that prioritise the welfare of our medical professionals and the health of our nation," he said, adding that they have yet to have an engagement session with the current Health Minister.
He said one of the ways to help retain the interests of medical officers to work in government hospitals is through the review of the Public Service Remuneration System Study (SSPA), which concerns the new civil service salary scheme.
"If the offered scheme is attractive enough to beat the offer from the private sector, that would be an ideal situation. But we must realise the limitation of spending that the government currently has.
"The government also can introduce a policy to call back the doctors who quit to go back and serve with them if possible," he said.
Meanwhile, Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy chief executive officer Azrul Mohd Khalib said retaining contract doctors in the workforce is not as straightforward as simply offering permanent posts for doctors who are currently under contract.
He said there have been many deterrents for those who were offered permanent positions that they may turn down the role.
This includes those having to relocate to other states without compensation, uprooting the doctors from posts and roles which they may be holding for several years in contract as they have to resign from their current position and a lack of guarantee of career progression as fewer specialties are being supported for training.
