KUALA LUMPUR – Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has announced the members and goals of the Healthcare Work Culture Improvement Task Force, following the death of a Penang Hospital houseman and mounting allegations of bullying in public hospitals.
In a statement today, Khairy said that the task force will have two months from today to present to the ministry their evaluation reports and suggestions for improving workplace culture and medical professionals’ human resource management in the public health service.
“Besides analysing details and investigation findings of the houseman’s death, the task force is also expected to hold engagement sessions with relevant parties such as ministry staff, statutory bodies, and non-government organisations,” he said.
He added that the task force can propose to the ministry the appointment of relevant consultants for the purpose of supporting the roles and functions of the group.
The unit will be chaired by former Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry chief secretary Professor Datuk Dr Siti Hamisah Tapsir.
Eight other members will have a seat in the task force, including Datuk Hamidah Naziadin, who helmed CIMB’s group human resource department, with 31 years under her belt; and Prof Dr Zabidi A.M. Hussin, a paediatrician specialising in paediatric neurology, who is currently the pro-vice chancellor at International Medical University.
The others are Mohamed Ridza Mohamed Abdulla, a lawyer and partner at Mohamed Ridza & Co.; Dr Amer Siddiq Amer Nordin, a psychiatric consultant from Universiti Malaya; IMU Healthcare chief executive officer Dr Chong Su-Lin; The Vibes executive editor and Patient Safety Malaysia chairman Manvir Victor; corporate trainer Sivaramakrishnan Balasubramanian; as well as representatives from the Public Service Department.
Khairy said that while the initiative will take some time to bear fruit, a conducive and harmonious work environment begins with colleagues helping and supporting each other.
“Now is not the time for us to fight, nor the time for us to point fingers,” he said, adding that the ministry is committed to eliminating toxic work culture in public health facilities.
Yesterday, he said that the unit will be looking into several individuals from five departments who were allegedly involved in the bullying of the deceased Penang Hospital houseman.
He said some of the accused healthcare workers are specialist doctors and had not been suspended or transferred to a different department while investigations are underway.
The death of the junior doctor after his posting to the hospital is believed to be the second involving a houseman in the state. In December 2020, The Vibes reported that a doctor who had resigned from the same hospital had died suddenly.
Several doctors, who asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the issue, said bullying in the medical fraternity is a pervasive problem. – The Vibes, May 13, 2022
