They have suggested, among other things, free counselling services and a whistle-blowing policy so that young doctors can voice problems without fear of repercussions.
Their call comes after a report on the alleged mistreatment of housemen in the obstetrics and gynaecology (O&G) department at the University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC).
UMMC has said it was investigating the matter.
Dr Timothy Cheng of the orthopaedic surgery department at UMMC said the matter of alleged bullying and tough working conditions was not unique to the hospital. He claimed that many housemen in other government institutions had raised similar issues before.
Cheng said older doctors might dismiss young house officers’ complaints as frivolous because they experienced more pressure when they were housemen.
“It is true that training was a lot tougher back then,” he said. “There was a lower doctor to patient ratio and less computer technology. So medical officers had to work harder and run around more.
“There is also more awareness of mental health issues now. So the younger generation may be seen as feeling entitled for talking about their problems. Ten years ago, nobody dared to speak up.”
He also said there was a lot of pressure working in the O&G department because the lives of newborn babies were in the hands of medical staff, which means doctors are stricter.
Cheng called for hospitals to implement a whistle-blowing policy so that housemen and doctors alike could openly voice their concerns without fear.
He also urged housemen who were struggling to complete their training to reconsider their career paths as the medical journey ahead was not going to get any easier.
Dr Sassitharan, who goes by one name and is based in the Pengasih drug rehabilitation centre, agreed that house officers’ duties were simpler these days compared with when he was a houseman and had to be on call for 36 straight hours every week.
He agreed with Cheng that there were reports of alleged bullying in most hospitals, saying “housemen are the lowest in the hospital hierarchy.”
However, he said, different people would have different reactions to the high pressure environment in hospitals, adding that this was why some could complete their housemanship without any problem while others faced mental health issues.
Sassitharan called for government hospitals’ psychiatry departments to offer free walk-in counselling sessions for housemen, which is already being done in Hospital Selayang.
Doing so, he said, would prevent them from “making the wrong decisions” that could affect their physical health.
He also suggested that housemen form a support group where they could share their experiences and problems.
Clinical psychologist Dr Chua Sook Ning said health workers were one of the groups most vulnerable to poor mental health, especially during stressful times like a global pandemic.
“Throughout Covid-19, frontliners are more vulnerable to experiencing depressive symptoms, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and other signs of distress, which may include changes of appetite and sleep,” she told FMT.
She said studies had found that health professionals were unlikely to seek mental health support due to a lack of access to such services and the stigma attached to it.
“We must tackle the stigma to really encourage them to seek professional help and make it easier for them to do so in a private and confidential manner,” she said.
“Highlighting these issues is important as a reminder to the general society that health professionals are simply just human and that extra support could be really helpful during stressful times.”
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