MMA perplexed at continued housemen shortages, asks ministry to explain

THE MALAYSIAN Medical Association (MMA) is asking the Ministry of Health (MOH) to explain the reasons behind housemen shortages following reports indicating that the problem is still prevalent.

Commenting on the reported dire shortage of housemen at the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), its president Dr Azizan Abdul Aziz described such a situation at healthcare facilities as concerning as it will have an impact on the delivery of public healthcare services.

Over 70% of the population depend on the public healthcare system for their healthcare needs, she noted in a statement today.

 “It is perplexing to hear that there are housemen shortages especially since between 3,000 to 5,000 medical graduates are being produced each year.

“How many of these medical graduates have entered the healthcare system in the last three years and how many have resigned? How many are not interested in clinical work?”

She noted that an eHO (for e-housemen) portal was set up for medical graduates to choose preferred locations for their placements.

She questioned however if all of them are applying.

“Are medical graduates being too selective over where they wish to serve? The MMA hopes the MOH will shed light on this issue,” she said.

Dr Azizan added that ground sentiments have indicated there were glitches in the eHO system.

She expressed hope that sufficient steps have been taken by the government to rectify the technical issues.

“An explanation from the MOH leadership would help allay the many concerns expressed by colleagues and members of the public concerning the housemen shortages,” she said.

She noted a report by the CodeBlue portal that the UMMC's Medicine Department is cutting certain services and collecting reported cases of suboptimal care or “near misses” resulting from manpower shortage.

“The cutting of services is a concern to be addressed as UMMC is the main public hospital serving the people of Petaling Jaya – a major town in Selangor,” she said.

Dr Azizan also noted concerns that the workload of medical officers (MOs) at UMMC will significantly increase if there is a “Zero HO protocol” initiated as reported.

“We fear this may potentially lead to further burnout and over time, resignations among MOs frustrated with the system,” she said.

As UMMC is a healthcare facility under the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) she expressed hope that both MOH and MOHE will work together towards a more sustainable solution concerning the placements of housemen, housemanship training and the facility's manpower issues.

“These issues have highlighted yet again the urgent need for detailed long-term planning of healthcare human resources and digitalisation of the public healthcare system for data-driven, informed decisions,” she stressed.

“With detailed monitoring of real time data on the public healthcare workforce, we believe these gaps in the distribution of healthcare workers seen nationwide can be efficiently and effectively addressed.” – The Vibes, January 19, 2024