KUALA LUMPUR – The Healthcare Work Culture Improvement Task Force (HWCITF) said there was no concrete evidence of workplace bullying being linked to the death of a houseman in Penang, but noted instances of coercion and overwork existed within the Health Ministry’s workforce.
In a media briefing today, the task force said this was based on the analysis of a report by the ministry’s Integrity Unit.
However, the task force pointed out there were other factors that had pressured the deceased throughout his course of work, including high self and workplace expectations, a challenging environment and a heavy workload, apart from long shifts.
“Due to a lack of time and access to more elaborate and detailed information, the HWCITF will hold this view for as long as it does not receive any additional information on the houseman’s death from police investigations on the case.
“Incidences of bullying, burnout and unhealthy workplace culture do indeed occur in the ministry, but they happen on different levels and are not prevalent in all Health Ministry facilities,” said task force chairman Prof Datuk Siti Hamisah Tapsir.
Apart from Siti Hamisah, who is also a former science, technology, and innovation ministry secretary-general, the task force also includes eight other professionals and experts.
However, when pressed further, Siti Hamisah explained that while the task force holds these views, the police investigation is still ongoing for the aforementioned case.
Similarly, HWCITH member Manvir Victor also explained that the task force had looked into the entire working structure of public healthcare to ascertain its findings.
“We interviewed quite a number of the housemen, but because we are looking at healthcare work culture specifically itself, we did meet several other hospital staff, which consists of nurses, the director of course, the heads of department, specialists, medical offices and so on.
“So it was not only specifically for the houseman but we have to look at the entire ecosystem,” he said.
On May 13, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin announced the formation of the HWCITF, which was tasked to look into bettering the working culture among Health Ministry staff following the alleged bullying incident in Penang.
The death of the Penang Hospital houseman on April 17 this year is believed to be the second involving a junior doctor in the state.
In December 2020, The Vibes reported that a doctor who had resigned from the same hospital had died suddenly.
Siti Hamisah said that bullying did not only take place among trainee doctors but had directly or indirectly affected the ministry.
Since its formation, the task force has held dozens of group discussion meetings to make recommendations to the Health Ministry.
The HWCITF also conducted a survey involving a total of 110,411 ministry officials and staff to establish its findings.
However, Siti Hamisah assured that the survey was done anonymously and the identity of those who participated are protected.
The task force found that one of the main contributing factors to these issues included the lack of efficiency, skills and readiness in carrying out given tasks.
The HWCITF also noted that although detailed guidelines existed through a flexible working system, the compliance and implementation were not comprehensive.
In the media briefing today, Siti Hamisah also said that the training of housemen in public hospitals was also inconsistent, and many of them were on duty for long hours and overworked, adding that a more structured and consistent approach was needed.
“The HWCITF also finds the need to underscore the focus in optimising the number of staff in accordance to current needs, apart from improving the infrastructure of Health Ministry facilities.
“The comprehensive digitisation of work processes is also seen as an important step in reducing workload, apart from raising the Health Ministry’s service delivery.”
“Although there are policies, guidelines and regulations related to the management and channel for complaints at the ministry, the HWCITF feels there was room for improvement and consolidation to ensure the elements of confidentiality were applied in the management of complaints and for the confidence of the complainant,” she said.
The task force, which submitted its report to Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin on August 11, also listed 10 recommendations for the ministry to make improvements at all facilities.
The recommendations include the review of the ministry’s vision, mission and core values to suit the times, reviewing the structure and efficacy of the ministry’s MyHelp system, integration of existing digital systems and reviewing policies, regulations and guidelines.
The task force also recommended the restructuring of the Medical Qualifications Committee, pre-screening of houseman candidates, the strengthening and setting of standards for houseman training, the improvement of the e-Housemen system, the standardisation of the Mindset Transformation Programme and hospital orientation for housemen, as well as the establishment of support groups for the trainees. – The Vibes, August 17, 2022
Additional reporting by A. Azim Idris
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