MMA lauds promotion of specialist doctors

Star: KUALA LUMPUR: Specialist doctors have reason to cheer, thanks to the Health Ministry's decision to allow 1,000 of them in government hospitals to be promoted from the U41 grade to the U48 special grade.
According to Dr Vasan Sinnadurai, chief of the Malaysian Medical Association's (MMA) Section Concerning Medical and Health Staff, the move would help keep the doctors in service.
“We're very happy,” he said. “This will definitely encourage more specialists and doctors to stay in government service and serve the people.
“We have to commend the Health Minister for two really good moves recently – allowing us to do locum and giving the promotion,” he said.
Health Minister Dr Chua Soi Lek announced on Thursday that the Public Services Department had agreed to the promotion two days after MMA president Datuk Dr Teoh Siang Chin told the ministry about the plight of specialists stuck in houseman or medical officer posts.
Dr Vasan said many doctors had been leaning towards the private sector recently because they were not getting the U48 grade, as the previous promotion system did not allow immediate promotion from U41 to U48.
“The U41 grade is on par with that of a house officer, so many doctors' self-esteem was starting to be affected.
“Many of them were feeling unhappy staying at that level.
“But now with the minister's intervention, doctors can not only get a promotion but also bypass the U44 grade and go straight to a U48, which is a very big jump for them,” he added.
The promotion comes with a significant pay increase of up to RM2,000, along with added incentives such as extra allowances.