GEORGE TOWN – Party mate-turned-foe Dr Afif Bahardin has taken to task Penang health exco Norlela Ariffin over allegations of bullying levelled against some senior doctors at Penang Hospital, where he himself once served as a houseman.
The Seberang Jaya assemblyman cautioned against jumping the gun and making allegations against medical officers (MOs) and specialists at the hospital, describing it as inappropriate and saying that it will demotivate and demoralise the capable and dedicated doctors at the hospital.
He said the situation is not like what is being reported, which makes it seem as though abuse and ill-treatment are rampant.
As a surviving houseman, I cannot deny the fact that the training at Penang Hospital is tough, and I have worked 36 hours (straight) during my housemanship between 2009 and 2011.”
“There are some housemen flirting around, but it is a small number,” he said in an interview with The Vibes.
“You can know who are the malignant ones and usually the housemen will pass on tips on how to handle these kinds of people.”
Dr Afif was Norlela’s predecessor in heading the health portfolio in the state executive council when he was with PKR previously.
He held the position from May 2013 till his resignation in March 2020. He was immediately replaced by Norlela, who is the Penanti state assemblyman.
Dr Afif later quit PKR to join Bersatu in May 2020.
He said that the public and politicians should refrain from making assumptions and conclusions regarding the recent suicide of a houseman from the hospital.
The matter is still under investigation and it is wise to wait until it is over, he said.
He added that media statements on the allegations would erode public confidence in the hospital, its healthcare services and the staff. He claimed to have received many calls from people questioning why Norlela was speaking out on the matter.
He also said she should have talked to the doctors before making assumptions, and pointing a finger at them is tantamount to penalising them.
He noted that she had said that she sent the names of MOs and specialists claimed to be involved in the bullying of the houseman who died to the Health Ministry, and that she had identified five departments where the bullying allegedly took place at the hospital.
He also said that not all departments have housemen.
“By saying this or naming five departments, it will definitely create dissatisfaction among the MOs, specialists and consultants who are good working doctors and are willing to teach the housemen (properly).
“As a state exco, she should leave the matter to the Health Ministry and other relevant authorities to complete their investigations before giving comments to the media,” he added.
Good housemanship training takes time
Dr Afif also said that times have changed, compared to when he began as a houseman in 2009.
“Some ways and means cannot be continued and there must be changes in the way of communication, as the culture and expectations and also the working environment have changed,” he said.
He added the system has also changed as during his time the housemen had to be on call back-to-back, working 36 hours without any breaks due to the shortage of trainees.
“But now it is a shift system. I think any aspiring doctor wants to be a good doctor, surgeon or even a good physician, because medicine is not only science but also an art.
“The more you are on the field or on the ground, the more time you spend with your patients, the more patients you have seen, the more things you will learn,” he said, stressing that this would take time.
He said one would not have a sense of progress with respect to labour laws or the rights of those who work eight hours a day.
“Being a physician or surgeon is an art as they get to acquire the skills, which is not enough to learn in five years in a medical school,” he added.
Dr Afif added that housemanship training is intended for junior doctors to be able to gain more knowledge.
In order to produce competent doctors they must be well-trained.
This is not about how much salary one gets and how many hours one works. This is about producing competent doctors.”
“So, the understanding must be there. I agree that communication between the housemen and the MOs and the specialists must be improved for the learning process to take place.
“But, I think to just complain about long working hours and compare this-and-that doesn’t work in Malaysia,” he said.
The Vibes had on May 3 reported that a houseman, whose name has been withheld due to a request from his parents, was posted to the hospital just three weeks before his sudden demise.
This is believed to be the second death to involve a junior doctor in the span of two years.
In December 2020, The Vibes reported that another doctor who had resigned from the same hospital had died suddenly.
The incident triggered an outcry among his colleagues, who wanted the authorities to seriously look into the matter instead of dismissing it as a “common” issue. – The Vibes, May 15, 2022
