KUALA LUMPUR — The proposed but now cancelled work shift system or Waktu Bekerja Berlainan (WBB) for public hospital doctors must address increments in on-call allowances, said a health policy advocate.
Although the Health Ministry (MoH) has shelved the WBB pending further study by a special taskforce, there is still no indication that raising on-call allowances will be addressed, said Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy CEO Azrul Mohd Khalib.
“The call for equitable increases of on-call allowances for all relevant healthcare workers remains unanswered.
“The statement does not address this (on-call allowances). In fact, it is likely to be further delayed pending findings from this taskforce,” Azrul said in a statement today, in reference to MoH’s announcement on halting the pilot system.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad’s statement on shelving the WBB pending more study stated that the taskforce’s terms of reference would be on enhancing the delivery of healthcare services and the scheduling of working hours.
Azrul pointed out that the current on-call rate for doctors is RM9.16 per hour, which is equivalent to what a barista at a coffee retail outlet earns.
“In fact, a part-time server in a restaurant can earn up to RM15 per hour,” he noted.
He said one current recommendation for higher doctors’ on-call allowance is RM25 per hour.
For the record, the Malaysian Medical Association has said that the current on-call allowance rate of RM9.16 per hour has not been revised for more than a decade.
However, Azrul also said that it would be wrong to “reduce” the controversy to solely compensation for on-call work and better working hours, adding that the “vicious cycles unmanageable workloads and burnout” from staffing shortages must also be part of the deliberations.
He said the formation of the taskforce was a opportunity for MoH to “properly recognise, address and properly respond” to these issues.
Fatigued doctors will in turn affect other healthcare stuff such as nurses, as all will face excessive workloads amidst the loss of colleagues who are resigning from public healthcare service “each day”.
“Tired doctors are more likely to make mistakes. It will be unsafe and unsustainable. We need long-term solutions and recommendations, and the resources and political will to implement them.
“The taskforce should not take more than six months to complete its task,” Azrul added.
MCA deputy president Dr Mah Hang Soon recently explained how the WBB was not aligned with “reality”.
Among the system’s faults is that night shifts on weekdays after 5pm are counted as part of the 45-hour workweek, thus making doctors ineligible for on-call allowances during these hours.
He said by denying doctors allowance payments for weekday night shifts “devalues the added burden of night work”. This affects junior doctors who also rely on such allowances for their income.
The WBB only considered working on weekends and public holiday shifts as “on-call”, which is unfair to those who work on night shifts during the weekdays. – January 25, 2025