KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry has been urged to carry out an "overhaul" of the occupational safety and health of the public health sector.
The Malaysian Society For Occupational Safety and Health (MSOSH) made the call following the tragic death of a trainee doctor last month.
Its president, Dr Shawaludin Husin, said bullying cases affecting trainee doctors must be resolved comprehensively and that occupational safety and health in the public health sector is extremely important when the country is still managing health crises caused by Covid-19.
"Occupational safety and health risk in the public sector is very complex and caused by at least two elements.
"Firstly, fatigue due to extreme mental pressure and long working duration which reached its peak since the Covid-19 pandemic country in 2020.
"Secondly, problems arising from the working environment and culture marred by bullying by certain quarters where junior health professionals are dealt with a mental pressure that leads to psycho-social hazards," he said in a statement today.
MSOSH, he said, welcomes the announcement by Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin on the setting up of an independent task force to investigate the death of the trainee doctor.
He also said MSOSH also welcomes Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah's strict stance that the latter would not compromise with any bullying culture.
"We hope the occupational safety and health elements would be given focus in the white paper on the public health sector to be tabled in Parliament soon.
"Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment and Risk Control (HIRARC) should be introduced among young health professionals.
"If such proposal is being taken into consideration, we believe that the white paper to be tabled soon will be able to open the way for a more comprehensive solution to the issue," he said.