KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah health authorities will monitor the work environment in hospitals and health facilities across the state following the death of a specialist doctor in the Lahad Datu district on the east coast.
State Community Development and People’s Well-being Assistant Minister Datuk Flovia Ng said the Sabah Health Department initiative aimed at identifying issues related to work pressure and bullying among healthcare workers.
“Initiatives to improve work pressure management and support the mental well-being of staff will also be strengthened,” she said in reply to Alias Sani (Parti Warisan-Sekong) during question time at the State Legislative Assembly sitting on Thursday (Nov 21).
Alias asked what steps the Sabah government had taken to address the matter, which had gone viral on social media.
Dr Tay Tien Yaa, a pathology specialist at the Lahad Datu Hospital, was found dead in her rental unit on Aug 29 amid allegations of workplace bullying.
She was the head of the hospital's Chemical Pathology Unit and lived alone.
On Oct 1, her brother, Tay Yong Shen, disclosed that the family had found evidence about her workload and treatment in her WhatsApp messages.
Ng said her ministry, through the state Health Department, had conducted an internal investigation into the incident and submitted the report to the Health Ministry.
She said the ministry established a special independent task force to investigate the incident on Oct 10, chaired by former Public Service Department director-general Tan Sri Borhan Dollah.
“This task force has been given three months to present the investigation findings,” she said.
