KUALA LUMPUR: There are avenues for housemen to seek help if they experience bullying at the workplace,” says deputy director-general of health (public health) Datuk Dr Azman Abu Bakar.
His said this after a study revealed that nearly 80 per cent of junior doctors in Malaysia claimed that they had experienced bullying at work.
“I believe we have enough avenues for housemen to refer to if they are bullied,” he told the New Straits Times.
“There are scheduled meetings between hospital directors and junior doctors, for them to discuss issues that they have been experiencing.
“Even state directors nationwide are supposed to go to the ground to hospitals and check the conditions of housemen.
“These young doctors can also write to the ministry if they are reluctant to meet the directors.
“Once we find that they are having problems, we will provide counselling to help them out.”
Commenting on a police investigation that began a few weeks ago after a houseman at a government hospital lodged a report against a senior doctor, he said: “The case is still under police investigation. We are still not sure whether the senior doctor was convicted of wrongdoing.
“As doctors, our main aim is to ensure patient’s safety. Sometimes, specialists can be very firm in their decisions as we are dealing with human lives.
“We need to be clear on the definition of bullying. At some point senior doctors need to be strict, but not harsh. They need to be firm in making decisions, as a simple mistake can be fatal in this line of work.
“Sometimes, we have junior doctors who are complaisant. If anything were to happen, the accountability at the end of the day will come back to the specialists and senior doctors.
“So, sometimes they can be a little stressed out if their instructions are not being followed by housemen.”
Recently, the Health Ministry announced that it would hold closed door dialogue sessions with junior doctors and housemen to discuss their concerns at the workplace.
Health Minister Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said the sessions would be held with the Graduate Training Committee in stages nationwide.