00:00Malaysia's shortage of nurses could worsen if they are required to work an additional
00:06three hours a week.
00:09This is what Howard Catton, CEO of the International Council of Nurses, told FMT after ward nurses
00:15were mandated to work 45 hours a week starting December 1st.
00:20A forced increase in the number of hours that nurses work as well, I think is a short-term
00:29measure to try and address the shortage.
00:32But it comes with risks.
00:34There's a safety issue in terms of the care that we're delivering to patients.
00:38If we're working long and extended shifts and hours without breaks, we're more likely
00:44to burn people out and to exhaust them.
00:49On Thursday, Health Minister Zulkifli Ahmad described the additional three hours as reasonable
00:55and assured those required to put in extra hours that they would be cared for.
00:59However, Catton pointed out that women in the nursing profession are already faced with
01:04additional challenges.
01:07Overwhelmingly our profession of women who have other responsibilities, caring responsibilities,
01:13actually they need flexibility.
01:15And you see this in other countries that actually it's not forcing people to work longer, but
01:20it's working with people to find shift patterns and hours of work which are more flexible
01:25that meet their needs.
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