KUALA LUMPUR, March 7 — The invalidation of the results of placements selected by more than 2,000 medical officers after its ePlacement system encountered errors has enraged government doctors.
The ePlacement system ran into technical difficulties for an hour and 30 minutes after it was opened last February 27 at 3pm, causing errors in the selection of placements for 2,245 UD10 medical officers.
One week later, the Ministry of Health (MOH) announced in a statement that all selections made on February 27 are cancelled and that new selections will be open on the ePlacement system on March 17 at 3pm.
Candidates can make appeals to switch placements through a Google Form on the ePlacement system from March 17 to 23. The MOH did not say if medical officers who have already purchased flight tickets or booked accommodation would either get to keep their selected placements or receive financial reimbursements if they have to make fresh selections.
Candidates are to report for duty at their new facility on June 30.
The MOH’s statement on its Facebook page yesterday received more than 800 reactions, mostly anger and laughter emojis, as frustrated doctors expressed fury at the ministry’s “incompetence.”
“This is very cruel. Please la, you guys don’t know how much they need to prepare, especially mentally, days or even weeks before the ePlacement. Suddenly, selections are cancelled. So easy to just cancel. Very inhumane,” wrote a doctor.
Another doctor slammed the MOH’s decision to issue a press statement on the matter instead of sending applicants an official email, saying: “And they still wonder why we prefer quitting. When they make it almost impossible to survive in this system. And this is how much we are valued.”
A person pointed out that it’s difficult for doctors to get leave to apply for their placements, saying: “Please take responsibility. MOH is wasting the time of all the affected doctors.”
A doctor said she saw how her friends, who were in the midst of on-call duty, struggled to apply on the buggy ePlacement system last February 27. “MOH is so very cruel.”
Yet another questioned how the MOH planned to implement an electronic medical records (EMR) system or artificial intelligence if its eight-year-old ePlacement system couldn’t even manage 2,500 users.
Many doctors demanded accountability, instead of denying the rights of doctors who had already selected their postings and shifting the burden of responsibility to them to make fresh selections.
“Very good. MOH is an agent of unity – Malays, Chinese, Indians, and even ethnic groups in Sabah and Sarawak are all condemning you,” another said.
Dr Timothy Cheng, an orthopaedic surgeon, asked the MOH if it could approve all appeals with financial implications, such as candidates who already bought flight tickets or booked accommodation.
An anonymous message sent to CodeBlue via email told the MOH to uphold the valid placements that were already announced, threatening “legal and collective measures” on behalf of the 2,245 affected doctors if no action is taken.
