Materia Medica Malaysiana

MMA lauds government directive on clinical service

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has given the thumbs-up to the Government’s directive requiring all district-level hospital directors and health officers to do clinical work.

MMA president Datuk Dr N. Arumugam said the move might help overcome some of the critical shortage of doctors experienced in many districts.

The directive was announced by Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek on Monday.

Under the directive, directors and health officers are required to be on call and do ward rounds and to treat patients at the outpatient department.

However, he said it was up to the officers to decide how many hours they want to set aside for clinical work.