KUALA LUMPUR, July 13 — Contract doctors fear that a recent change in policy to potentially release doctors from being bonded to public service will further compound the problem of staffing shortages among medical officers in the national healthcare system.
Anonymous doctors told The Star Online portal that a mass exodus of doctors might be likely following a recent announcement by the Public Service Department (JPA) that contract doctors, dentists and pharmacists under its scholarships were permitted to apply for release from their bonds.
A contract doctor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that they were working in a short-handed national healthcare system and are now concerned that they will be further burdened.
“The patient turnover rate where I am based is already very high and we need all the doctors we can get. We have been on high gear since Covid-19 overwhelmed the system and a potential departure can exacerbate the situation,” he was quoted as saying.
Sources felt that it would be a waste of taxpayers’ money to allow those whose education was publicly funded to be released from their bond, and further compound the problems faced by the national healthcare.
“We already have doctors who have gone overseas and not returned after finishing their bonds, so what more the current ones who have the option of being released?
“Although this move can make the affected contract doctors happier, it will be better for the government to improve the current contract system holistically and tackle the predicament faced by contract doctors,” he said.
Another contract doctor said the majority of the contract doctors were already feeling unappreciated from years of service without being able to secure permanent positions.
The doctor, who has been attached to a hospital in Johor for three years, said the new announcement will cause many to opt out of the bond which will be a loss for the public hospitals and the taxpayers.
When contacted, Hartal Doktor Kontrak spokesman Dr Muhammad Yassin agreed that the new policy would do more damage than good, saying he expected some 1,000 contract doctors to apply for the release.
Dr Muhammad said the Public Service Commission should instead create more permanent positions for contract doctors, alongside specialist programmes to allow them to serve within the national healthcare system.
He also noted that allowing contract doctors under JPA scholarships to leave without serving their bond was unfair as their education was funded by taxpayers’ money.
“At the end of the day, the rakyat and those who choose to remain in the system will be the ones suffering,” he said.
Last year, it was reported that a total of 23,077 doctors were appointed between December 2016 and May 2021, on a contract basis to undergo graduate training and compulsory service
Of that number, only 789 or 31.47 per cent of the 2,544 officers from the 2016 and 2017 batches had been offered permanent appointments by the government.
Previously, those who broke their bonds faced a penalty ranging from RM300,000 to RM1 million, depending on their country of study.
Contract doctors appointed after 2016, as well as those who had taken loans before 2016, are eligible to terminate their bonds.
