PETALING JAYA: Excessively long shifts for medical personnel – sometimes lasting for over 30 hours – must be brought to an end with the introduction of a five-year healthcare workforce reform plan under Budget 2027, says MCA vice-president Datuk Lawrence Low.
He said this should be implemented in two phases, with the first focusing on increasing the number of doctors, nurses and allied health personnel.
He said the second phase should focus on progressively reducing continuous working hours, with 24 hours set as the maximum.
"Round-the-clock care requires sufficient staffing and proper shift systems, rather than excessive hours to fill workforce gaps.
"Although hospitals operate 24 hours a day, this does not mean the same doctor should work continuously for 30 to 36 hours," he said in a statement on Thursday (Oct 1).
He noted that housemen currently worked an average of about 60 to 62 hours a week, while some hospitals still required medical personnel to work continuous shifts lasting 30 to 36 hours.
"This cannot become the norm," said Low, who is also the MCA economic and SME affairs committee chairman.
He said the initial phase should increase the number of housemen, medical officers, specialists, nurses and allied health personnel while improving shift and on-call arrangements.
Low said this was key as shortening working hours without increasing manpower would just lead to workloads shifting to other healthcare workers.
He also called for a review of overtime, on-call, weekend and public holiday compensation, with clearer rates introduced for healthcare personnel.
"The hourly rate for overtime on normal working and rest days should be at least doubled and tripled on public holidays, with additional allowances for night shifts and high-intensity specialties.
"Doctors completing lengthy on-call duties should also receive mandatory post-call rest rather than immediately starting a full shift," he said, adding that working and overtime hours should be electronically recorded for accurate workforce planning and fair compensation.
Low also proposed additional allowances for night shifts and high-intensity specialties, while calling for all working and overtime hours to be electronically recorded.
Low added that stronger measures were needed for remuneration, career development, specialist training and retention, noting that 3,494 doctors had left the Health Ministry between 2019 and 2023, according to Malaysian Medical Association data.
He also said that vacancies in the ministry had increased from 10,419 in 2017 to 54,362 in 2024 with the healthcare personnel fill rate also falling from 96% to 83% during the same period.
"Malaysia needs a sustainable healthcare system, not one that depends on doctors sacrificing their rest to keep hospitals running," Low added.
