PETALING JAYA: The placement selection for medical officers has encountered another hurdle, as the re-application process is delayed by a week.
An email was sent to medical officers informing them that the new e-Placement System application would start on Tuesday (March 25) instead of Monday (March 17) as previously announced.
The email seen by The Star stated that the application would be conducted in three phases until March 27.
"This rescheduling is necessary to enhance the security of the e-Placement System and follows advice from cybersecurity agencies regarding technical issues during the placement selection on Feb 27," the email said, sent late on Saturday night (March 14).
A message shared by affected doctors said the rescheduling disrupts their on-call schedules, causing stress and uncertainty for contract doctors.
"Workload and patient care responsibilities shift to other colleagues, increasing stress and causing delays in patient care," the message read.
"We’ve had to request leave multiple times, only to have it rendered useless through cancellations. This mental exhaustion is taking a toll on us," it added.
On March 7, the Health Ministry announced that the placement selection for 2,245 Grade UD10 medical officers conducted on Feb 27 was cancelled due to technical disruptions in the e-Placement system.
The one-hour and 30-minute disruption on Feb 27 led to errors in the placement selection of medical officers, affecting the placement allocations in the system.