KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 3 — A group of junior doctors at a district hospital in the northern region of Peninsular Malaysia have alleged that they are victims of bullying through excessive workloads.

One of the junior doctors, who wishes to be known as "Dr A”, said they were forced to work beyond their normal working hours and have even been on duty for up to 24 hours a day, not including being called in at any time (on call), according to a report published today on Utusan Malaysia.

He said that the situation arose because the hospital was critically understaffed with medical officers, forcing the junior doctors to take on their tasks even though they were still in their medical training period.

"I once fell ill and had to undergo treatment in a ward, requiring me to take medical leave.

"Because I took medical leave, we were forced to find a replacement, and as a ‘penalty,’ the housemanship training period was extended by the length of the medical leave taken,” he said yesterday.

He added that they were frequently verbally abused by senior medical officers, including nurses, especially in cases where patients’ conditions were beyond the junior doctors’ control.

He explained that junior doctors are entitled to eight days of annual leave during a four-month period (one work rotation) and are eligible for replacement leave if they work on public holidays, but it was extremely difficult for them to get leave approval.

"I used to be very brave and active, but after becoming a junior doctor, my character has changed, and I’ve become afraid to speak out. I’ve experienced such pressure that I even had suicidal thoughts.

"I’ve cried many times because I couldn’t bear being verbally abused with inappropriate words, especially if a patient died while I was on duty,” he shared.

According to him, some junior doctors at the hospital have made the drastic decision to quit their housemanship training, even though it could affect their qualifications to become doctors.

"My group saw many quit because they couldn’t handle the pressure and the toxic work environment.

"We once made a complaint to the department director, but the issue seems to have been ignored without any action,” he added.

He called on the Health Ministry to take the issue of junior doctors being bullied through excessive workloads seriously, as it could destroy the potential of young talent in the medical field.

"We junior doctors are also human, not machines. We have families, responsibilities, and we need enough rest, food, and sleep to save the lives of patients.

"Humans cannot work more than 20 hours a day with only three hours of rest. This is about our welfare and our lives,” he stressed.