HEALTH Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad has instructed the ministry’s officials at federal and state levels to study the heavy workload complaints at public hospitals.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) Dr Dzulkefly said he had also instructed a re-evaluation on the deployment of graduate medial officers (PPS).

“At one time, the country had about six to seven thousand medical graduates per year. Now, the number has dropped to about 3,000 per year, causing the number of PPS in hospitals to decrease,” he said.

“This had led to the current workforce feeling overwhelmed by the heavy workload and the lack of manpower.”

According to Dr Dzulkefly, he and the ministry’s top leadership were monitoring the situation closely, and they were also aware of the plight of the country’s healthcare workers.

He was responding to a post on X by @MaryamSopheaK, who questioned if the ministry has plans to increase the number of PPS in district hospitals.

The user said they are working themselves to the bone with the PPS resigning one after another, adding that handling the ward for one straight week could result in mental health issues.

Overwhelming workload at public hospitals had been a long-drawn issue in the country, with low pay rates compounding the matter.

According to an NST report, government doctors were reportedly paid RM9 per hour in overtime on weekends. Their on-call rates are RM200 for more than 15 consecutive hours of work on working days and RM220 on weekends and public holidays. - April 26, 2024 

https://focusmalaysia.my/health-minister-orders-study-on-heavy-workload-complaints-at-public-hospitals/