KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry is looking into several manpower matters, including the issue of 30-hour on-call shifts for doctors.
“We are now looking at the question of supply and demand (regarding) deployment of our human resources," Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said on Wednesday (Oct 10).
“I think within that framework, we will be able to address specific issues (like the 30-hour shifts).
“(This does not happen) everywhere. This is why we have to understand where the gaps are.
"We have to identify the shortfall and give the correct 'prescription'," he said on the sidelines of the ministry's Disaster Management Conference here.
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He had been asked if the ministry would look into calls by doctors to review the long shifts, which they claim have taken a toll on their well-being.
While not promising a definite outcome, he said the ministry is trying to understand the issues that need to be addressed.
The Star reported on Wednesday that doctors have called for the 30-hour shifts to be reduced to "more humane" hours.
A 31-year-old doctor was found dead in her car in the parking lot of a hospital with fluid in her lungs.
Her sister believed that her untimely death was caused by overwork, exhaustion and inadequate rest.
Dzulkefly said he hoped issues that have caused concerns among healthcare workers will be included in Budget 2025 this Friday (Oct 18).
“We hope due consideration is given to (their welfare)," he added.
On the death of a pathology specialist in Lahad Datu, Dzulkefly said he had met with Tan Sri Borhan Dollah, the chairman of the task force set up to investigate the incident.
ALSO READ: Independent task force set up to probe death of Dr Tay
"The task force is independent of the ministry," he noted.
Dzulkefly said the ministry was also looking at the issue of alleged bullying at its facilities.
Dr Tay Tien Yaa, a pathology specialist at Hospital Lahad Datu, was found dead in her rental unit on Aug 29, following allegations of workplace bullying.
She was the head of the hospital's Chemical Pathology Unit and lived alone in the unit.
On Oct 1, her brother Tay Yong Shen said his sister showed no signs of depression or intentions to end her life, adding that the family had discovered evidence in her WhatsApp conversations of her workload and how she was being treated.
