Health minister promises to resolve 'parallel pathway' contradiction

Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad told the Dewan Negara yesterday that his ministry would find a solution to the case of specialists from the parallel pathway programme who are facing problems in being listed in the National Specialist Register of Malaysia (NSR).

He conceded that, at present, there appeared to be a contradiction given the Malaysian Medical Council’s (MMC) refusal to recognise qualifications from certain colleges, which has stirred controversy.

Responding to a question from Senator RA Lingeswaran, Dzulkefly said he had met with the Attorney-General’s Chambers to discuss the matter and would submit a paper to the cabinet soon.

“I cannot divulge details at present but a solution is in sight.

“All graduates from the parallel pathway programme will be given the facilities to complete their training and be placed in the NSR to enable them to practice,” he said.

Yesterday, MMC president Dr Radzi Abu Hassan said the organisation had never recognised cardiothoracic surgeons from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in the UK (RCSEd) despite the Health Ministry declaring that these groups of doctors could apply for gazettement as specialists.

However, Radzi said they have been made aware of issues related to these cardiothoracic surgeons who graduated from the varsity, which falls under the Health Ministry’s parallel pathway programme.

The health director-general, however, mentioned that a task force has been set up to resolve the issue.

“The task force was set up to come up with a resolution as quickly as possible, which will be communicated to the relevant stakeholders in due course,” Free Malaysia Today reported Radzi as saying.

At the Dewan Negara today, Lingeswaran said there are currently 88 cardiothoracic surgeons listed in the NSR, with many of them having qualifications from the UK college in question.

Clarify the matter

On that note, Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) president Dr Azizan Abdul Aziz urged MMC to clarify the matter.

It was because, Azizan added, data from the past obtained from the NSR website appears to show that qualification from RCSEd was recognised and there are local specialists with this qualification registered.

“Furthermore, on March 15, the Health Ministry via an official letter stated that graduates from four parallel pathway programmes including the RCSEd cardiothoracic programme can now proceed for gazettement.

“These doctors will eventually apply to enter the NSR upon gazettement.

“MMC must understand the predicament faced by graduates from the RCSEd whose training the ministry has already acknowledged and approved, thus enabling these graduates from this parallel pathway programme to proceed for gazettement,” she said in a statement.

Azizan added that while the issue of doctors leaving for private practice or overseas is “beyond the jurisdiction” of the MMC, its decisions have a direct impact on the delivery of specialist care to the people and those awaiting cardiothoracic treatment at government hospitals.

“We also call upon the ministry to divulge details on MMC’s planned task force on the issue as this is a matter of public interest.

“It requires full transparency and clarity with regard to the task force's composition, terms of reference and timeline,” she added.

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