THE Covid-19 pandemic has plunged the world into economic chaos. Standing at the frontlines are healthcare workers, who risk their lives to tend to the influx of Covid-19 patients. This has inspired an outpouring of appreciation for our frontline heroes.
When Malaysia was hit by Covid-19 in early March, the pandemic had posed an unprecedented challenge to our healthcare system. Scarce resources and a rising number of Covid-19 cases, as well as insufficient manpower, had placed tremendous pressure on them.
Fear and uncertainty about contracting the disease became overwhelming when there was a short supply of personal protective equipment. Aside from the workplace challenges, many of them were worried that they might unknowingly bring the virus home and infect their loved ones.
As a precautionary measure, healthcare workers were encouraged to temporarily live apart from their families to prevent the spread of the disease. Take a minute and appreciate how much the frontliners had sacrificed for the sake of our health and safety.
Before the pandemic, understaffed healthcare had been a perennial issue in our country. According to data from the Malaysia Health Facts 2019, the number of doctors in the public health sector has reached 43,052, with the ratio of doctors to the population at 1:530. We are striving to achieve 1:500 this year.
This is a significant improvement from 10 years ago when the ratio was 1:1,105. Nonetheless, Malaysia is still far from the World Health Organisation's target for middle-income economies, which is a ratio of 1:400.
Being a healthcare worker is not easy as they have to endure long working hours and seemingly endless work shifts. On top of that, they are at constant risk of exposure to occupational hazards and frequently face demoralising mistreatment at the hands of their patients.
With insufficient manpower, healthcare workers are forced to do more calls and work longer shifts to cover the heavy patient load. To put things into perspective, on average they are required to work between 65 and 75 hours a week. Medical officers in a health clinic have to attend to at least 100 patients a day.
This heavy workload will eventually lead them to burn out. Furthermore, being away from home for such a long time will put a lot of strain on their work-family balance.
Studies have highlighted that healthcare workers have long been known to suffer from stress, and as a result, they are highly vulnerable to psychiatric illnesses, such as anxiety disorders and depression.
Given their efforts and contributions, they should be given incentives not just as tokens of gratitude, but also as catalysts to boost their morale. Our policymakers can do more to recognise the contributions of these workers by reviewing their salary and providing them with better incentives.
Policymakers should also provide them with work schedules that promote physical resilience, and reduce non-critical work activities to improve their mental wellbeing.
Moreover, in view of the need of our healthcare workers to have limited contact with their family members, policymakers should develop a plan, with the collaboration of other ministries, preferably the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry, to assist in taking care and communicating with the medical frontliners' family members.
There are no words that can describe our gratitude to these workers.
The pandemic has almost crippled the foundations of our country and institutions, but the darkest hour of the night comes just before the dawn, and our healthcare workers are beacons of light that guide us through the dark.
Our healthcare workers deserve our deepest gratitude and admiration — not just during this time of crisis, but always.
The authors include Muhd Shafeiq Muhammad Asri, Christine Audrey, Kamal Hafizi Alkhaired Kamarulzaman, Moi Sze Lyne, Nur Alyaa Syahida Salleh, Ooi Inn Jia, Teh Ching Wen, Nur Nadiah Basir. They are Group 3A Community Posting Final Year Medical Students, University of Malaya. Supervised by Associate Prof. Dr. Nik Daliana Nik Farid from the Department of Social Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya.
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times