KUALA LUMPUR: The resignations of contract medical officers in the public healthcare sector are on an uptrend since 2017, with many taking place last year, says Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa.
She revealed in the Dewan Rakyat that 3,386 contract medical officers resigned from 2017 to 2022, with the majority of the walkouts taking place last year, where 1,354 out of 29,548 medical officers left.
Dr Zaliha said 758 contract medical officers resigned in 2021, while 511 left their jobs in 2020.
In 2019, 475 out of 17,183 contract medical officers quit, while in 2018, there were 168 resignations from the 11,044 contract medical officers.
In 2017, merely 110 contract medical officers resigned.
According to Dr Zaliha, among the possible reasons for the resignations was lucrative job offers from the private sector, while others wanted to open their own clinics or further their studies, or leave Malaysia altogether.
“Some also stated that their resignation was due to personal reasons and health issues, including mental stress,” Dr Zaliha said during her winding-up speech on the motion of thanks to the royal address in Parliament yesterday.
Meanwhile, 76,381 medical officers from various government healthcare services have gone through a mental health screening by the ministry, and it was found that 3.35% of them suffer from extreme stress, anxiety and depression.
“The Health Ministry acknowledges that any worker who worked long hours could have mental health issues, which could be due to various psychological factors including failure to achieve work-life balance,” said Dr Zaliha.
She also said the ministry formed a special team in May last year to improve the work culture in public healthcare.
At the same time, Dr Zaliha said measures are being planned by the state health departments and government hospitals to address the issue of long working hours.
