KUALA LUMPUR – Health Minister Datuk Seri Dzulkefly Ahmad has instructed Health Director-General Datuk Dr Radzi Abu Hassan to immediately redeploy house officers to district hospitals in need.
This is in response to viral social media posts, which included images of a message written by medical staff on a whiteboard at a hospital in Kedah apologising to patients for the extended waiting time to see a doctor.
In a series of posts on X yesterday, Dzulkefly said the ministry was in the midst of implementing mid-term and long-term improvements to address complaints on doctor shortages.
“I am aware of and deeply concerned about the grievances faced by the health officers daily. I have instructed the health director-general to immediately redeploy house officers at district hospitals short of doctors.
“The mid-term and long-term plans are also being implemented,” he said.
The photo, purportedly taken at the surgical clinic at Kulim Hospital, was posted by Facebook user Syahid Said.
“Good morning. We apologise for the inconvenience. We are currently facing a shortage of doctors, and the waiting time may be up to five hours.
“We want to serve the public, but we are also humans. We can get tired and sick. We hope you understand. We apologise,” read the message written by health workers.
The message on the whiteboard also claimed that doctors at the hospital had been working until they fainted and fell ill, and many others had resigned and moved to private hospitals.
The post has garnered online sympathy for the hospital staff and has been shared more than 1,500 times since.
“Working in a government hospital is not easy; there are too many patients. Pity the doctors, who sometimes don’t get enough rest with the insufficient staff.
“Nevertheless, we appreciate the service of hospital staff, and we respect you. Please take time to rest,” wrote a Facebook user.
Taking this into account, Dzulkefly also said that he would continue investigating and acting on complaints.
“With 147 ministry hospitals and over 3,000 health clinics nationwide, I am bound to receive numerous complaints.
“Continue sending feedback and criticism. I will continue to pay attention and take action while continuing my various reforms,” he said. – May 17, 2024