Work Environments In Hospitals Must Be Empowering, Not Abusive, Says KJ

By Lara Kramer  •  13 May 2022 in News

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Health minister Khairy Jamaluddin is reportedly aiming to eliminate a hostile working atmosphere in the ministry’s hospitals.

He aspires to build reciprocal support and respect amongst coworkers, describing the work climate in the past and now as profoundly different.

“Workplaces should be respectful, supportive, and empowering, not abusive and humiliating,” he wrote on Twitter.

Mendengar pengalaman doktor pelatih pagi ini sebelum mereka memulakan ‘rounds’ mereka pada jam 6 pagi di Hospital Selayang. Banyak perkara yang diluahkan kepada saya. Ada jabatan yang mempunyai ‘work environment’ yang bagus. Ada pula yang boleh diperbaiki. pic.twitter.com/3kKiS2feRJ

— Khairy Jamaluddin 🇲🇾🌺 (@Khairykj) May 13, 2022

Apart from publishing multiple images of his interaction with them, he also stated that he had visited and learned about the hardships of housemen in Selayang Hospital before they made their rounds this morning.

“Many matters have been brought to my attention. Some departments have a good work environment, others need to improve,” he said.

Khairy said yesterday that the MOH Integrity Unit had been directed to investigate allegations of bullying in hospitals, as well as the to establish a special independent task force.

The list of the unit members, as well as the task force’s term of reference, will be unveiled today.

His statement was a follow-up to an previous case where a 25-year-old male houseman was suspected to have plunged from his residential apartment near Penang Hospital on April 17, just three weeks after commencing work.

The deceased, believed to be a victim of bullying, was a graduate medical officer who had reported for work at the hospital on April 4, according to the Penang Health Department.

Khairy also mentioned that the list of doctors allegedly involved in bullying trainee doctors or housemen at Penang Hospital (HPP) has been submitted to the Ministry of Health (MoH), and reportedly includes specialist doctors.

According to reports, Penang district police have confirmed the doctor’s death was being probed as a sudden death and that they wouldn’t preclude reclassifying the case if fresh evidence was discovered.

This is the second death of a houseman at the Penang Hospital in less than two years.

Penang Hospital is infamous for its toxic work environment, according to present and former housemen, as reported by Free Malaysia Today. 

They claim that housemen who are assigned there go through a “baptism of fire” and that it is the “worst hospital” in the country for trainee doctors. Some have even suffered bouts of racial abuse.

The grave matter has called attention to allegations of abusive supervision at Malaysian public hospitals, with medical staff speaking out about their personal encounters.

Netizens have also united in concern for the newly-surfaced issue, noting that none of them were aware of the toxic hierarchy that existed within the training system. Others expressed gratitude towards Khairy and other authorities for taking the matter seriously and working to curb such misdemeanours, especially in such an esteemed line of work.