Maravi

Health care for all

Health care for all
By Editor
Saturday July 26, 2008 [04:00]

For every profession to get the respect it deserves, there is need for its members to adhere to the rules that they set for themselves. For the public to have confidece in such professionals, they should be assured that they are dealing with people of high morals. Therefore, the advice given by University of Zambia Medical Students (UNZAMEDSA) patron Prof Karashani to student doctors, urging them not to let down the profession by adhering to medical ethics, is timely.

As Prof Karashani has advised, for a doctor to be respectable there is need for him or her to adopt a positive attitude towards patients, colleagues and the public. Indeed, a good doctor is one that listens to the concerns of his clients, who in this case are the patients.

Prof Karashani tells the student doctors to “develop a positive attitude towards your patients by listening to their concerns. You must build confidentiality by ensuring that when you know something about them, you will not leak the information. Behave and look like a professional. Don’t come to work drunk because the public will lose confidence in you.”

This advice to the young doctors is very important.
However, there is need for the country to create an environment where doctors can operate ethically.

Doctors, like any other professionals, have needs, families and obligations. They, too, have fears and anxieties.

They have obligations, too. As we demand so much from these professionals, we should also look at the environment they work in, the rewards they get and probably the communities they come from.

There is need for us to give our medical doctors the honour they deserve. Caring for the sick is a calling of a special dignity and importance. It’s not just another job.

We have hospitals that are run in conditions that may be termed sub-standard in terms of medical supplies such as gloves, medicines and equipment.

The lack of basic tools like Sphygmomanometers (blood pressure machines), thermometers, weighing machines. And these are very basic tools that a medical practitioner would need to have an overview impression of the client he is seeing.

These basic tools are sometimes not available in our out-patient departments. We are not even talking of the entubation equipment, suction machines, scan machines and some equipment which we can only dream about like Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRIs). For instance, one may only find Computer Tomography scanning machines (CT scan machine) at the UTH or at a mine hospital.

With all these challenges, how would one gauge unethical and ethical standards in administering medical services? How would you expect a medical professional to discharge his duties professionally?

By saying this, we are not advocating unethical practice or unprofessional conduct on the part of medical doctors. We are also not saying we cannot find ethical and professional medical practitioners among our doctors. What we are saying is that the lack of some of these basic tools may affect their work professionally, ethically or other.

We still have medical professionals living in substandard accommodation and yet we want them to carry themselves like those who come from decent places. Our doctors still suffer irregular and meagre on-call allowances, yet we want them to work with a straight face and a clear mind.

A number of wards in our hospitals are crowded, with inadequate curtains or linen, yet we are still asking our medical professionals to respect confidentiality of their clients.
UNZAMEDSA president Ephraim Munsaka raises a very important issue that should not be taken lightly. He says there is need for the authorities to provide doctors with Hepatitis B vaccine.

It is unacceptable for a doctor to contract diseases in his or her quest to save life. Most of our doctors do not have medical insurance to cover them in case of eventualities.
Let us provide the best to our doctors in order to get the best out of them.
Let us grant them the respect and support that they need.

As beneficiaries of services from our doctors, there is need for the citizens to demand for certain standards to be met in our hospitals. Let us demand good health policies and adequate medicines in our hospitals.

The doctors have in the past demonstrated their commitment to their clients as evidenced in the commonly known case of the resident doctors of 1999. This may be classified as one of the longest strikes by our doctors. One of their demands was for basic equipment and medicines to be provided to the hospitals on behalf of their patients.

They were not asking for sophisticated medical equipment like CT scan machines and MRIs.

There is need for us the citizens to press and make our politicians accountable for the promises they make during election time. We need to make sure that they change their attitude towards health care for all. As we have said before, one cannot claim to uphold the sanctity of life if there is no provision for minimum health care for all.

Labels: HEALTHCARE

posted by MrK @ 2:32 PM