KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 22 – The Ministry of Health (MOH) will launch a new online complaints mechanism next month for doctors and other staff to report workplace bullying.
Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin told the press yesterday that currently, there is no clear mechanism for junior medical officers to file complaints on workplace issues.
“However, starting Oct 1, these officers will be able to use a specific complaint mechanism called MyHelp, which will make it easier for them to lodge reports against bullying incidents or any complaints regarding disciplinary issues, or anything that has to do with the toxic work culture,” Malaysiakini reported Khairy as saying.
“Through the use of this system, we will be able to take immediate action in a more transparent manner, while at the same time, protect the identity of those who lodge reports.”
Khairy also said that MOH will expand its 360-Degree Assessment System – an advanced type of performance appraisal that is currently only used among top management – to hospital directors across MOH hospitals nationwide.
“They (hospital directors) are only being assessed by their superiors. But after this, they will also be evaluated by their peers and the officers under their supervision,” he said.
“After this, maybe we will use this system for the heads of department and specialists. And we might widen the system until it reaches all levels.”
Khairy did not address the Academy of Medicine of Malaysia’s (AMM) request for the Healthcare Work Culture Improvement Task Force (HWCITF) to produce additional analysis specific to medical practitioners, including housemen and junior doctors, in its review of the public health care sector’s workplace culture.
AMM, a professional body of medical specialists across specialties, noted that medical practitioners of Grade 41 and above comprised less than 23 per cent of 110,411 respondents in HWCITF’s online survey among MOH staff, with house officers and junior doctors making up only 11 per cent of total respondents.
HWCITF reported that only 7 per cent of total survey respondents said they experienced workplace bullying or harassment and that just 18 per cent perceived their work culture as negative. Figures specific to housemen or junior medical officers were not provided.
