MMA Opposes Move To Replace Doctors As Hospital Directors

KUALA LUMPUR, July 12 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) opposes the government's plan to replace doctors as government hospital directors with paramedics or administrative officers.

Its president, Datuk Dr Teoh Siang Chin, said today that only a doctor trained in medicine could perform clinical governance.

He feared that the changes would result in a decline in the quality of medical care in government hospitals.

"Currently, hospital directors are those doctors who have been chosen to use their clinical acumen and experience to practise clinical governance of their hospitals so as to ensure a high standard of patient care," he said in a statement here.

He said hospital directors must be professionals trained in medicine to understand the specific needs of other professionals like specialists, doctors, pharmacists and dieticians to command their respect and to ensure the quality of all facets of the care provided.

Since the doctors had been doing an excellent job for decades, they should not be replaced by officers who were less qualified, he said.

"Basically, it is must easier to teach a doctor management skills than to teach a layperson the complexities of medicine," he said

Dr Teoh said the present system was working very well and what the government needed to do was to "look at constructive long-term measures to attract and retain doctors in the service."

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi recently announced the government's plan to train experienced medical officers and nurses to take over the administration of hospitals so as to release doctors from administrative work to enable them to concentrate fully on their hospital or clinical work.

He was reported as saying that this was one of the approaches identified by the government to overcome the shortage of doctors in the country.

-- BERNAMA

Medical Director of Hospital aka Pengarah Hospital aka Pegawai Perubatan yang menjaga Hospital have traditional been medical doctors appointed to administer with the help of senior medical assistants and nurses. With their medical background they have been the ones running the various hospitals and health facilities for the MOH. Some have been sent for hospital administration courses and eventually became better at administering these health facilities. Over the years they have managed to keep these facilities running with the help of the clinical specialists in the health facilities and the senior paramedical staffs. Now the Minister is thinking of replacing them with administrators without medical backgrounds. First impression is that these administartors may function less efficiently. As pointed out by the MMA president, it may be better to send medical doctors who are keen to function as hospital directors for hospital administration courses in order for them to function better than to have them replaced by pure adminstrators.