Nobility of practice of medicine
Since the beginning of time no
profession has inspired humanity and enjoined the saving of life like the
practice of medicine. The very first oath that doctors take involves a commitment
to do no harm and to save life. In all civilizations, present and ancient, doctors
hold a high status (In Gikuyu tradition, the “Mundu Mugo” was the traditional
healer who had a high office) not because of their personal charm, wits and
ability to hypnotize but because of the importance of the calling they accepted
.No other profession involves having to put personal feelings aside and attend
to a dying, terminally ill patient while looking for solutions on how to
prolong life through better care or to watch a road accident survivor unable to
be saved because there is no theater available to handle the case.
Ciaigana ni Ciaigana
In the 60+ days of the strike,
doctors have shared their horror stories and #MyBadDoctorexperience highlighted
the horror stories doctors go through in Kenyan public hospitals in their quest
to save lives but I guess “Ciaigana ni Ciaigana” (Enough is Enough) and downing
the tools to seek better work conditions and better compensations is the only
option they had. So 60+ days after the commencement of the doctors strike in
Kenya you have to wonder whether the 5000 doctors in the country are possessed by
“Madimoni” or if the cause they aspire for is a noble one that will bring
positive change to our communities and better healthcare for all.
It is enough that doctors have to
contend with poor pay and working conditions but it’s unacceptable not to
listen to them when they call out for help. Negotiations on the validity and
implementation of the CBA has constantly been derailed by a government side
with some help from the “independent” judiciary trying to arm-twist KMPDU into accepting
a return to work that would involve entrenchment of the status quo. This is a
formula bound to fail as it would imply a defeat of the pursuit of better healthcare
for all Kenyans irrespective of social class.
There are other factors which
have also prolonged the strike and brought healthcare service provision to its
knees, with an agenda that resonates well with the vultures of Wall Street and
current governing party’s manifesto.i.e Privatisation of Healthcare. The current
ruling party has made it clear that its intention is nothing short of liberalization
of healthcare service provision with no adequate subsidies to buffer those
unable to pay market rate for healthcare. Truth be told, if the true market
rate of healthcare was paid to doctors in either the public or private sector, not
many would be able to afford. The only alternative left is to utilize the
doctors and expertise they possess while recognizing the important role they
play in ensuring a vibrant populace actively involved in development
activities.I hope that with the resolute resolve of the doctors and Kenyans of
goodwill #LipaKamaTender will be actualized and doctors given the necessary
support to save lives.
What if we pay doctors their
demands?
Assuming that the only
contentious issue in the CBA is the doctors’ salaries, we have to be practical and
evaluate the impact of such a move on the economy. In my limited economic theory
class, I know the net impact would be positive in the form of greater uptake of
mortgages, car purchases and other middle class luxuries by the newly
appreciated doctors. The impact on the health indicators will also improve with
better net effect on GDP. Therefore, unless there is an economic demerit on the
move to pay doctors slightly more than now, let us refrain from thinking it’s a
payout to faceless shell companies for no services rendered just like Anglo
Leasing.
It is gratifying to note that despite
vilification by a section of the press who have tried to paint the doctors as
greedy, the majority of public opinion is with them in the quest to fulfill a
bidding agreement with the government in 2013 on various issues including staff
compensation, equipping and staffing levels of health facilities and
availability of quality healthcare including specialist care to all Kenya, including
the ones in the most remote areas. The government either by design or oversight failed to make adequate provision for the
implementation of the agreement in the last 3 budgets and only realized the
need to be reactive to the situation whens the doctors put down their tools.
After #LipaKamaTender though, we
need an intelligent conversation on the National Health System. Bringing
together health system researchers and practitioners and consumer bodies to
discuss on the way forward to towards a better cost-effective and hopefully
Universal healthcare system.
No comments:
Post a Comment