Seeking right pill for docs’ woes

IT was touted as a “paralysis” of the healthcare system, but in the end the Mogok Doktor Malaysia’s Black Monday campaign ended up stillborn.

The strike, which came two years after the rather successful MMA Schomos’ Code Black campaign and Hartal Doktor Kontrak strike, has even been branded by some junior doctors as a “firecracker that did not explode”.

Instead, it set tongues wagging in the medical fraternity and the public for all the wrong reasons.

The organisation was haphazard from the start. Junior doctors were not convinced with the movement’s call for a strike. It was “a faceless phantom” lacking in transparency and doctors were not willing to take the risk to strike when they did not know who was organising it.

“People would not risk their careers or jobs to follow someone wearing a mask. This is not Gotham where the Bat symbol is a signal,” said one doctor, likening Batman’s secret identity to the organisers.

Ironically, the Mogok Doktor Malaysia’s Instagram page seems to have been deactivated on day two of the supposed strike. And this was the page used by the organisers to communicate details on the strike to some 15,000 followers.

When organisers back off, participants almost certainly will have no faith.

Another issue was the group’s warning to the public to go to private healthcare facilities and avoid public healthcare facilities during the three-day strike, claiming the healthcare sector would be “paralysed” with thousands of doctors on medical leave (MC) or emergency leave (EL).

The group claimed that even the emergency department and maternity wing would be affected.

If anything, this reeked of irresponsibility on the part of the organisers, who themselves are doctors.

While many emphathise with the plight of the contract doctors – they are poorly paid and quite overworked, with no job security as well – there are matters of life and death that cannot be toyed with.

Some 70% of Malaysians use government healthcare services, according to the 2019 National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS 2019). Their health cannot be jeopardised.

The organisers could have instead taken a leaf from the Code Black social media campaign and Hartal Doktor Kontrak’s peaceful strike which prioritised patient care and ensured that their movement had no impact on patient care.

They too were championing the cause of contract doctors.

To make matters worse, Hartal was dragged into the commotion and was panned on social media for being behind the strike, when it was not. That would have lost the organisers some support within the fraternity.

In the end, there was almost no disruption to healthcare services, and even the “wear black” campaign turned out to be dud.

Despite that, the organisers have claimed the strike was a success, saying some 3,000 doctors had taken part.

“There were contract doctors who took MC and EL, some medical officers had to carry out jobs that are usually done by house officers but the patient rate fell 30% overall,” the organiser said before the line of communication was disabled.

“It seems like nothing (had) happened because both the crowd and the workforce was reduced.

“We have brought the issue of contract doctors to the eyes of the public,” it added.

Asked about the need for the strike, the organisers said: “We have lost trust in the Health Ministry.”

It’s a sad indictment. While the strike itself was an idea, the contract system and the job security for junior doctors need to addressed as soon as possible.

The good thing to have come out of this failed strike is the formation of a high-level committee to resolve the plight of contract doctors and the government’s announcement that some 12,800 contract doctors would be absorbed into permanent service in the next three years.

It is a step in the right direction.

It has been a long wait for job security for contract doctors, in addition to other issues such as low on-call payment rates and unbelievably long hours.

However, new Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa has been engaging healthcare groups since she took office. It is only fair that she and the other agencies involved are given time to solve this legacy issue that has lasted through the tenure of five health ministers.

Hopefully, the Health Service Commission will be formed as soon as possible and solutions offered.

A strike at this time is definitely uncalled for. Doctors have had their share of suffering but it does no good to get confrontational when plans are afoot to address the matter.

It’s a good thing Black Monday was not so bleak after all, and everyone can now get to work on solving the issue.

Dr Zaliha’s predecessor Khairy Jamaluddin started the ball rolling on solving the problem but she should be given the chance to prove her commitment to resolve this matter.

Let’s hope Dr Zaliha can prescribe the right medicine for this terminally ill contract system.