Sosco docs under fire

NST: Thousands of workers are losing out on Socso benefits due to under-diagnosis of occupational diseases by panel doctors.
Some of the 4,690 doctors have taken it upon themselves to limit investigations leading to a negligible number of workers being identified with such diseases.
Workers have lost out in medical treatment, compensation and possibly, disability benefits.
Most of the cases referred to Socso involved noise pollution with occupational diseases that went undiagnosed, including skin and lung-related diseases and muscular skeletal disorder.
Using the United Kingdom standard of one worker with an occupational disease to every industrial accident, Malaysia should have registered 69,132 workers with occupational diseases.
But only 183 cases of workers with occupational diseases were recorded last year.
Socso recorded 1,247 cases of occupational disease in 1995; 1,089 in 1996; 832 in 1997; 178 in 1998;192 in 1999; 278 in 2000; 204 in 2001; 216 in 2002 and 189 in 2003.
Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Dr Fong Chan Onn, disappointed with the poor performance of Sosco doctors, wants them to give workers their rightful benefits.
"Occupational diseases are grossly under-reported for the Malaysian worker population and something has to be done about this," he told the New Straits Times.
An occupational disease is defined as any abnormal condition or disorder with the exception of occupational injuries, caused by exposure to factors associated with employment.
Fong felt that some Socso doctors failed to adequately investigate cases.
"They should check if diseases suffered by workers were related to their nature of work, the machines they worked with, chemicals they handled and if their places of work had noise or dust pollution."
He said medical statistics showed that three out of 10 asthma cases could be work-related.
"There could be more workers suffering from musculo-skeletal disorders and skin diseases linked to occupational hazards."
Fong said workers, especially those in small and medium industries, should be made aware of occupational diseases and their prevention.
It is in this regard that the doctors have been required, since January this year, to attend occupational disease training courses, something which only 680 or 14.49 per cent did.
"I had given them a year to do so but few have complied. I am giving them another six months, failing which they may be struck off the panel."
The doctors have until Dec 31 to attend the courses.
They can do so at the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia or in a six-month diploma level twinning programme for Occupational Medicine with the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland.
The doctors also have the option of doing so at other local universities offering courses in occupational medicine.
On occupational diseases like contact dermatitis, asthma, pneumoconioses (caused by asbestosis), hypersensitivity pneumonitis, inhalation fever and heavy metal poisoning, he said they were preventable.
Diseases that affected the blood, liver and nervous system were usually the result of industrial spills or confined-space accidents.
There are 48 occupational diseases on the Socso list.