Doctors' rights or patients' rights?

When the Sunday Observer interviewed people about their views on the conduct of doctors in the country, a female doctor who was earlier in the public service said that the majority of doctors focus their attention towards earning money by doing private practice and they neglect poor patients. Here are the excerpts of the interview.

Retired District Medical Officer, Dr. Samuel Nagalagam said the Sri Lankan doctors always try to achieve their own goals rather than fulfilling the obligations of patients.

Therefore he asked the majority doctors not to go behind money always by focusing much attention on private practices and play with the lives of innocent patients.

Provincial Councillor in the Sabaragamuwa Province Keerthi Samarasekara said unlike in the olden days present day doctors always talk about their rights and not the rights of patients.

“I remember during our younger days, about fifty years ago some doctors in the plantation sector hospitals were in the habit of visiting patients every week rather than awaiting them to come to hospitals”.

Executive in a state bank, Sumanasiri Peris blamed majority doctors in the country for conducting various campaigns only to win their demands and rights and not the win the rights of poor patients.

He said 90 per cent doctors are not doing a yeoman service as their ultimate motive is to bag huge amount of money by doing private practices.

Bank of Ceylon employee, Gayan Kaluaratchchi of Mirihana blamed some doctors for spending only a limited time to diagnose patients at hospitals.

“I know a certain doctor in our area who spends less than three hours in the hospital and going for private practice at his residence which is located in close proximity to the hospital”.

He said this doctor cannot be traced even by the Health Ministry flying squads because he is given the fullest protection by the ordinary employees in the hospital.

Mother of three children Sakunthala Wanigasekara blamed the doctors for staging work stoppages very often to win their demands.

She condemned the doctors’ strikes and described them as a national crime.

She said during her short overseas tours in some Western countries she never heard about work stoppages by doctors or allied staffers in the health services.

“In the UK or USA no doctors can take part in any kind of agitation campaign against the Government and if any doctor is found guilty of committing such an offence he is punished by the judiciary”.

Tangamma

Periyanayagam of Ratnapura said she was an employee in a tea estate and requested the Health Ministry officials to take action against doctors who do not attend for their estate hospitals in time.

“In our hospital some doctors do their services only two hours each day and this situation badly affect the patients coming to seek immediate medical attention. A cultivator, Wickrama Edirisinghe of Horowpathana said when her sister’s daughter was taken to a Government hospital following a snake bite two years ago, it took nearly two hours for the doctors and other hospital staffers to treat her.

“Without doing immediate treatment for the patient, the nurses asked me to take away the serpent who stung the girl, but ultimately she died”.

Undergraduate in the Ruhuna University, Kumudumali Ratnayake requested the Health Department authorities to fulfil the health needs of all health workers without fail.

“If so, no strikes, work to rule campaigns or work stoppages will be done by doctors in the country”.

She also appealed the Health Minister to appoint a special governing body to look into the grievances of doctors and the allied staffers.

Neluka Priyadharshani, employed as a nurse in a hospital in the Down South wanted the Cabinet to implement strict laws that prohibit health workers to refrain from indulging in strikes.

“This is a must, considering the plight of poor patients when strikes are being carried out by doctors”.

Nishantha Gamage of Kelaniya blamed majority Lankan doctors for not performing a better job towards the poor patients and said that their main intention was to earn money by doing private practice and not to perform a proper job.

“I therefore appeal our own doctors to fulfil the objectives of poor patients too rather than thinking their own comfort”.

A private sector employee, N. P. Malani of Ragama requested the medical staffers in the country, especially doctors and nurses not to indulge in work stoppages or work to rule campaigns for the sake of poor patients.

“If you have your official problems, try to solve them by discussing with the Health Minister and not to take revenge from them”.

A private sector executive Kumara Weerakkodi blamed our doctors for not performing their duties well even after receiving their education at ratepayers’ expense.

“Very often I see our GMOA doctors on TV, conducting press briefings and every time they hold these conferences to inform the health sector authorities talk about their salaries, allowances, perks and various other grievances”.

He said he never heard these doctors making new proposals to develop the health sector in the country.

A private sector employee E.M.P. Ekanayaka said during the olden days, doctors and teachers played a vital role to develop the country’s health and the education sectors and due to this their professions were valued by every sector in the society.

“But, now both sectors are doing their services not for the benefit of the people but to achieve their own ends”. She said not only the doctors, but also the teachers in our country are nowadays engaging in various work stoppage campaigns and this will badly hamper both the health and education sectors alike.

Mercantile employee, Kamal Sujeewa was not happy with the attitude of the majority doctors in the country and said that medical negligence is reported from almost every hospital. He said the main intention of our doctors is to earn money and not to perform a valuable service towards the patients.

“To my mind these so-called doctors provide a much better service for affluent people seeking medical treatment at private hospitals than downtrodden people coming to Government hospitals”.

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Pix. by Vipula Amarasinghe