On-call allowance extended to doctors at six clinics involved in project to reduce hospital overcrowding - PM

KUALA LUMPUR: The government has agreed for the on-call allowance to be extended to medical officers at six health clinics involved in the pilot project to tackle the overcrowding issue in hospitals.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said it is also agreed that the payment of the allowance is extended to include weekends.

"I have also asked the Public Service Department (PSD) and the Ministry of Health (MoF) to look into this facility so that the on-call allowance could be extended to all other than medical officers," he said during Minister's Question Time at the Dewan Rakyat sitting here today.

Anwar said this in reply to a supplementary question by Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau (PH-Tuaran) who wanted to know whether the government is planning to raise the on-call allowance for doctors in the country.

The Prime Minister said even though the current rate of the on-call allowance is appropriate, it needs to be raised as the allowance did not include doctors working in health clinics or hospital emergency departments.

On the long-standing proposal to absorb contract doctors to hold permanent positions in the public service, Anwar said the government expected 12,800 out of the 20,330 existing contract doctors would be absorbed within the next three years.

"This year, we expect 4,300 contract doctors to be absorbed.

"We cannot afford to completely solve this issue this year, but what we can do is provide an additional allocation of RM1.7 billion from the RM3 billion as emolument expenditure for the Ministry of Health in the 2023 Budget.

"This RM1.7 billion includes the expenditure to absorb and appoint some of the contract doctors to hold permanent positions," he said.

Anwar also expressed his appreciation to all the contract doctors for not going ahead with the plan to go on strike in protest of their pending employment issue.

The Prime Minister, however, said the government remains committed to tackling the issue as the contract doctors have served well and the country is in need of their services.

-- BERNAMA