PETALING JAYA: Even a 60-hour work week is a heavy burden for healthcare workers in the long term.<\/p>\n
Between 45 and 48 hours per week is more reasonable and in line with international standards, says the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA).<\/p>\n
Its president Datuk Dr Thirunavukarasu Rajoo, who welcomed a circular by the Health Ministry limiting working hours for housemen (HO) to 62 hours, said Malaysia needs to move towards a reasonable maximum work week.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo get there, we must address the systemic issues that allow long hours to persist.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis includes a chronic shortage of doctors, inadequate staffing ratios, and a system that has never been properly resourced to function within humane working hours.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need both directives and systemic reform,\u201d he said when contacted.<\/p>\n
He also said the directive to reduce working hours is not new, but has not been consistently followed on the ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cReports of HOs working up to 85 hours a week are deeply concerning. This is not just a welfare issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cHOs are in hospitals to be trained as safe and competent doctors. When they are exhausted, their ability to learn is compromised and patient safety is also at risk.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe immediate priority is clear. The 60-62 hour weekly cap must be enforced. Hospital directors must be held accountable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Dr Thirunavukarasu also said the circular\u2019s reminder to honour HOs\u2019 leave entitlements, was important.<\/p>\n
Annual leave and sick leave are not privileges, but rights under existing regulations, he said. \u201cDenying or substituting them is not acceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n
The issue of HOs\u2019 working hours resurfaced recently following reports that some junior doctors were still working up to 85 hours a week despite reforms under the flexi-work system introduced in 2019.<\/p>\n
A HO at a university hospital said the recent circular has made little difference at her centre, as a flexible shift system has already been in place for several years.<\/p>\n
The doctor, who requested anonymity, said the system already operates on rotating short and long shifts that keep working hours within the 60\u201365 hour range.<\/p>\n
She shared internal schedules showing weekly working hours averaging about 61 hours, with shifts divided between shorter 7am\u20135pm rotations and longer 7am\u20139pm shifts, alongside night duties.<\/p>\n
Departments at her hospital generally adhere to the official shift system and allow doctors to leave once their duties are completed, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnder the system, housemen are required to complete three long shifts and two short shifts weekly, with night shifts followed by a full day off,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The HO said discussions on reduced working hours should also consider workload distribution rather than focusing solely on total hours worked.<\/p>\n
Some housemen may technically work the same number of hours but carry heavier responsibilities as senior staff tend to rely more heavily on competent junior doctors.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy colleague and I may work the same 60 hours, but I may feel more tired than her because she does less work than me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She also urged policymakers to examine the workload of medical officers and senior doctors, noting that many continue working beyond official hours without additional pay.<\/p>\n
\u201cHOs can go home when their shift is finished, but MOs cannot,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Another HO based in a hospital in Sarawak said they face heavy workloads despite structured shifts that may not exceed 85 hours per week.<\/p>\n
Due to the workload, he said HOs often miss meal breaks and even basic rest time, due to constant clinical demands.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome can\u2019t even go to the restroom,\u201d he said, adding that his working hours are a mix of long, short and night shifts spanning between 10 and 13 hours each.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven though we start early and are able to leave on time, we spend most of our days finishing up administrative work,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PETALING JAYA: Even a 60-hour work week is a heavy burden for healthcare workers in the long term.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":658758,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[64,63,786,318353,98089,318350,17200,87880,785,5009,85,318352,318351,4869,318354],"class_list":["post-658757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-fighting","tag-flexi-work-system","tag-healthcare-workers","tag-housemen","tag-malaysian-medical-association","tag-medical-officers","tag-mma","tag-patient-safety","tag-sports","tag-staffing-ratios","tag-systemic-issues","tag-working-hours","tag-workload-distribution"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/658757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=658757"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/658757\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/658758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=658757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=658757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=658757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}