KUALA LUMPUR, May 4 – The Ministry of Health (MOH) today confirmed that a house officer attached to Penang Hospital fell to his death last month.
Penang state health director Dr Ma’arof Sudin said the deceased was posted to Penang Hospital last April 4, less than two weeks before his body was found after falling from his residence on April 17.
Dr Ma’arof said the police is currently investigating the case and that an autopsy has been conducted by the Forensics Department in Penang Hospital.
The final investigation report will be sent to the police, pending the results of several lab tests.
“Seeing that this case is still under police investigation and out of respect for the deceased’s family, JKNPP (Penang state health department) requests the cooperation of all parties not to make any speculation or to spread unverified information about this incident,” Dr Ma’arof said in a statement today.
The Vibes reported yesterday that the death of the trainee doctor attached to the MOH facility is currently classified as a sudden death.
The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA), in a statement today, urged health care professionals experiencing personal issues to reach out to MMA’s Helpdoc, a support group for doctors.
Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii, who chairs the Parliament special select committee on health, science and innovation, told Penang Hospital management to take responsibility for the death of the junior doctor.
He added that MOH must provide a clear explanation and to conduct a transparent investigation into the matter to curb any toxic practices against health care workers.
“This cannot be dismissed as a ‘common practice or culture’ and just be swept under the carpet,” Dr Yii said in a statement today.
“I call upon the government and the Ministry of Health to implement a strict zero horizontal violence policy in all workplaces to curb any toxic environment and even violence among all health care workers. This of course includes psychological violence, verbal violence and physical violence during interpersonal conflicts or conflicts among colleagues.”
