DOCTORS are letting out a loud cry before leaving our shores for better treatment, but those who matter deflect it by saying brain drain happens everywhere. This is a recipe for turning issues into crises. We thought we elected politicians to solve problems.
Did we think right? We think so. Granted, the issue of migrating doctors isn't just the Health Ministry's responsibility. Several others are involved, including the Public Service Department.
Malaysia is not good at solving problems that spread across ministries. We shine when it comes to managing silos. Perhaps it's a question of turfs. Be that as it may, a way must be found before we are left without doctors. Exaggeration? Admittedly, it is, but exaggeration brings problems into focus.
If the doctors, remainers and leavers, are right, the profession is a very burdened one. Don't go saying that these issues have been addressed. No, they have not been. Don't just take our word for it. Just yesterday, the Medical Alumni Association of Universiti Sains Malaysia called on the government to do a deep think on the issue of migrating doctors.
But for deep think to work, a keen listen must come first. It isn't just money that is driving them south and elsewhere. There are other matters weightier than this.
But first, the money. For the years these poor souls sweat it out in campus lecture halls and labs, the pay they get is nothing to write home about. Not to mention the RM1 million spent on them.
Then there is this brilliant Malaysian idea of putting these medicine men and women on contract, just to give less in pay and perquisites. Is this how we grow Malaysia? We credit the current government for doing away with such thoughtless practices.
But as an aside, we suggest that Putrajaya look into abolishing contracts for other professions in the civil service, too. Some contract staff are even prevented from applying for permanent positions by their current bosses. Such uncharitable acts must not be condoned.
Now for the other burdens. On Dec 22, the alarm bell was rung by no less than the former dean of Universiti Malaya's medical faculty, Professor Datuk Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman, in this very newspaper: 30 UM graduates opt to do their housemanship in Singapore instead of in Malaysia.
Now, this is not an occasional migration of doctors. It is an every year story. She advanced two reasons for this annual migration: lack of clear training pathways and absence of posts. But there are other reasons, too.
Being fresh out of medical school, they get bullied into working long hours. One doctor, in a I-can't-take-it-anymore desperation, went on air lamenting about being asked to work 16-hour days. Others have been pushed into more. Sleepwalking doctors? Let it be known: a doctor who is not well-rested is a dangerous person with a stethoscope.
Even specialists get bullied by more senior ones. But they, like burdened teachers, choose early retirement and head for London or Singapore. Malaysia's magnanimity for the needs of other countries' national health services is applaudable, but it mustn't come at the expense of its own.
Compassion, like charity, must begin at home. We are told a White Paper on the issue is in the making. We hope it's a product of keen listening and deep think. Otherwise, we would have missed the chance of a cure, if not prevention.