Akmal tells '8-to-5' policymakers to understand healthcare woes

Summary

• Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh says the real issue causing overwork among healthcare workers is the lack of staff, not the working hours itself.

• Akmal says reducing work hours to resolve overworking is wishful thinking as healthcare staffers will still need to do overtime due to excessive workload caused by staff shortage.

• He says the least the Health Ministry can do in the current situation is not reduce allowances.

The real issue behind healthcare workers working overtime is the shortage of staff, not working hours, said Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh.

He said the solution is to increase the number of healthcare workers, not reduce working hours.

“I believe, even though the new schedule may show a reduced number of working hours, it is merely theoretical and wishful thinking.

“In reality, our healthcare workers will still be forced to work overtime due to the workload outweighing the number of workers available,” he added in a Facebook post.

Akmal said if the Health Ministry is facing financial constraints, the least which could be done is not to cut on-call allowances after working for 18 hours.

“And if on-call allowances cannot be paid, at least calculate the payment based on working hours.

“Appreciate our healthcare workers who have sacrificed so much and remained loyal to the public sector.

“I hope policymakers who work 8am to 5pm and have weekends off can understand what healthcare workers on the ground are truly facing,” he added.

Workers up in arms

Yesterday, it was reported that a Health Ministry town hall session turned into a “disastrous” event, with healthcare workers calling for heads to roll over a plan to introduce a new shift work system called “Waktu Bekerja Berlainan” (WBB).

Some attendees also demanded the resignations of Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad and Health director-general Dr Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan, while others called for a strike.

“YBMK (minister), wait for us to launch a mass strike,” a participant reportedly wrote during the Zoom meeting.

The healthcare workers reportedly complained about pay cuts that would result from the new system and its alleged inflexibility. 

There were also concerns raised over WBB’s impact on their work-life balance.

Address their grouses seriously

Echoing Akmal’s sentiments, PAS Youth urged the government to remember that when it comes to healthcare workers’ welfare, it involves morals and ethics apart from technicality.

“They have struggled for years as our front liners, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“As such, their grouses must be looked into seriously without compromise,” said its chief Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden in a statement.

For starters, he urged the government to improve its ways of getting stakeholders’ views considering the recent town hall session went south.

“The process must increase medical officers and specialists’ participation,” he said, adding the on-call allowance must be raised without waiting for the work model changes to be implemented.

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