Malaysia’s health ministry announces easier placement swops for its nurses soon
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A nurse preparing a dose of the Pfizer vaccine against Covid-19 for a student at a secondary school, in Putrajaya, Malaysia, in 2021.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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PUTRAJAYA - Healthcare workers in the same service scheme will soon be able to easily swop placements with one another to move to a different facility, or even a different state.
The Health Ministry’s digital Mutual Posting Swap Platform, known as the Suka Sama Suka Posting Swap Platform, is set to begin operations in October.
The first phase will begin with nurses.
Speaking to The Star, Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said the ministry’s system is shaping up well.
“Our Suka Sama Suka platform is coming soon, and it will be a real test bed for nurses,” he said.
“The system was developed in-house. They have done a number of stress tests on this.
“We will really get to see how this happens soon. Honestly, this is something I am so delighted about.”
It was previously reported that the system will allow healthcare workers under the same scheme to be able to swop postings without the involvement of human resources.
With the Suka Sama Suka platform, a nurse interested in a transfer simply needs to log in to the system and find another nurse under the same scheme who is also interested in transferring.
They can refine their search based on the desired state, facility and position.
The system will then match the two candidates to facilitate the placement swop.
Under the arrangement, officers with permanent employment can swop with other permanent staff, while those employed under contract can swop with others under contract.
The healthcare workers involved in a swop must also have the same medical specialisation.
Officers whose applications have been approved will not be able to cancel their applications. A new application can be submitted only after two years.
They must also report for duty simultaneously with their partner. The transfer will be cancelled if either party fails to report to their new workplace.
Commenting on the development, Malayan Nurses Union president Saaidah Athman said the transfer process will be more transparent with such a system in place.
“An applicant can see how many people have applied for the same placement. Suka Sama Suka will not burden staff,” she said. THE STAR/ ASIA NEWS NETWORK
