KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 16 — Another doctor in the public health service has died, with her family attributing her death to overwork from long on-call shifts.
The Star reported that Dr Ch’ng Hooi Ping – a UD43 medical officer from the paediatric department of Seberang Jaya Hospital in Penang, according to the state health department – was found dead last June 27 in her car in the parking lot of her workplace.
The 31-year-old doctor – who had received the results for her final paper for specialist training a week before her death – was reportedly found with fluid in her lungs.
Dr Ch’ng’s post-mortem report identified acute pulmonary edema as the cause of death. Pulmonary edema is the abnormal buildup of fluid in the lungs.
“As far as we knew, she had no history of illness,” Dr Ch’ng sister, named simply as Dr K, told The Star.
She added that there were no signs of mental health problems or bullying of her sister.
Dr K, who quit the public health service after the death of her sister, said doctors can work up to 30 hours during on-call duties.
“Our on-call system is such that we have to come in to work at 8am in the morning and we can only go back the next day. Usually post-call is until 12pm, but we usually don’t go back at 12pm. If you calculate it, the working hours typically extend up to 30 hours,” said Dr K.
“She has been putting in long hours for several years. I have experienced it myself, and I couldn’t take it too. I don’t think anyone can take it (in the long term).”
Dr K, who previously served as a medical officer at another public hospital in Penang, said she herself was experiencing burnout and that her sister’s death was the final straw. Dr K is now doing locum work.
“My intention is to help the doctors in the Health Ministry. I think most of them are burnt out and tired,” she said.
“We have been grappling with the shortage of housemen and medical officers. Some medical officers are doing both the roles of housemen and medical officers. It is too tiring. Some of my friends are also depressed due to the long working hours and heavy workload.”
Dr Ch’ng’s family is reportedly claiming compensation from the hospital where she worked.
Before Dr Ch’ng’s family went to the press, another doctor in the Ministry of Health (MOH) – a chemical pathologist, Dr Tay Tien Yaa, died from suicide in her 30s last August 29. The young UD52 specialist doctor was head of the chemical pathology unit under the pathology department at Lahad Datu Hospital in Sabah.
Dr Tay’s brother recently expressed a lack of confidence in a task force formed by the MOH to investigate her death that Dr Tay’s family attributed to workplace bullying. The six-member investigation team is headed by former Public Service director-general Borhan Dollah.
Dr Tay’s mother told China Press that the family, who has appointed lawyers, was not seeking compensation, but justice and the truth about her daughter’s suicide.
