Health workers, who organized a nationwide stop-and-go action with the slogan “One Day, 100 Thousand Physicians” on June 15, made a statement in front of their workplaces and in provincial centers, noting that the problems in the field of health were increasing.
11 health, labor and professional organizations that were discussed in the General Assembly of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and found the law proposal on the personal rights of health workers insufficient; personal rights, faulty legislation, unfair malpractice practices, violence in health, professional devaluation. made statements that they rejected.
Due to these job layoffs that have increased recently Patients are also victims. While some patients support doctors’ pursuit of rights, others think that the number of strikes is high because they cannot find a doctor. Is all this due to a lack of empathy on either side? Are layoffs against the Hippocratic Oath? What is ethically correct? Here you will find answers to these questions in our content.
Finding a doctor in hospitals is getting harder day by day.
Various challenges faced by healthcare workers cause them to brain drain or organize large-scale strikes. This situation naturally affects patients And it’s getting harder and harder to find a doctor.
Even recently, a ambulance driver, He had taken action because he had to call the hospital for 3 hours for an oncology patient. The ambulance driver, who locked himself in the ambulance in front of the Ministry of Health, said, “I opened the oxygen cylinders. If the Minister of Health does not come here, I will blow up the ambulance.”
The health worker called out to the people around with a megaphone and said, “I am not a terrorist. Nobody should come, I am here until the Minister of Health comes. I do not want to harm the citizens. If I can’t work in the state hospital, what should the citizen do? I have been looking for a hospital for an oncology patient for 3 hours. I could not deliver it to the service. Intensive care patient. This action of mine is not intended to harm the state. I am doing this action to defend patient rights. If I can’t work in a state hospital; patients, their relatives, what should this nation do?” The ambulance driver, who was convinced, ended his action after a while and met with the Minister of Health.
The vast majority of patients we consult on this issue support these strikes, but some because they couldn’t get an appointment He stated that he experienced various problems. Although the health system is problematic, there are patients who think that doctors should show a little more empathy.
All this has led to some ethical problems. Is the health workers’ strike really against the Hippocratic Oath?
Hippocratic oath; your doctors, that they will practice their profession with dignity It’s a promise they’ve made for generations. It is accepted that it was written by Hippocrates or one of his students, who lived in Antiquity and is considered to be the founder of Western medicine.
In the original text, which has changed many times over time, the god of medicine Asclepius was sworn in. “honour” is sworn on.
The most recent text of the Hippocratic Oath is as follows:
As a member of the medical profession;
I will devote my life to the service of humanity,
I will always give priority to the health and well-being of the patient,
I will respect my patient’s autonomy and dignity,
I will respect human life at the highest level,
Between my duty and my patient; I will not allow entry of age, illness or disability, creed, ethnicity, gender, nationality, political opinion, race, sexual orientation, social position or any other characteristic,
I would rather keep the secrets that my patient opened up to me, even after he passed away,
I will practice my profession with my conscience, dignity and observing the principles of good medicine,
I will protect and develop the honor and respected traditions of the medical profession with all my strength,
I will show the respect and gratitude to those who taught me about my profession, my colleagues and my students,
I will share my medical knowledge for the benefit of patients and the improvement of health services,
I will take care to protect my own health, well-being and professional competence in order to provide the highest level of service,
Even if I am threatened, I will not use my medical knowledge to violate human rights and individual freedoms.
Resolutely, freely and on my dignity,
I take an oath.
We asked a striker doctor the lingering question: Are these layoffs against the Hippocratic Oath?
“The Hippocratic Oath nowhere There is no clause stating that I will not speak out against violence against me, and that I will not defend my personal rights. At the heart of the Hippocratic Oath is ‘I will not discriminate between patients and we will do what is right for their health’. In addition, there is a clause in the Hippocratic Oath ‘I will always give priority to the health and well-being of the patient’. One of the most important aspects of our quitting this job is to be able to examine our patients for at least 20 minutes, not 5 minutes. to serve them better there is. In other words, this quitting job is done both so that patients can get a better service and physicians can get their personal rights. Not contrary to the Hippocratic Oath, it is a work done exactly in that direction. Emergencies, intensive care units, dialysis units, oncology departments are not included in the work interruption. Also, emergency surgeries can’t do anything.”
We also asked a doctor who immigrated to Germany from Turkey: If you were here, would you join the strike?
“If I had been there, I would have joined the strike. After all, I cannot claim my rights and face many more obstacles. Besides, these strikes are happening all over the world, they were also held in Germany. can obtain their rights more easily, unfortunately it is very difficult there. only 1 day here an impromptu strike is happening. Moreover, the healthcare workers’ strikes in Germany are largely supported by the public and are not met with the same reaction as in Turkey. Patients should not be burdened with doctors, On the contrary, it should be supported so that they can be treated more comfortably in the long run.”
Ali Kemal Akgül, Deputy Chairman of the General Health-İş Union and a Specialist Dr. His friend also answered questions about the subject:
Is it against the Hippocratic Oath to participate in this action? Where are these strikes ethically (both professional and social)? What do you think about the victimization of patients?
Hippocratic oath; “Language, religion, nationality I swear on my honor and honour, that I will not allow differences of gender, team, race and party to come between my duty and my conscience, and that I will do my job with honesty and honor.” format.
The phrase “First do no harm (primum non nocere)”, which is accepted as uttered by Hippocrates, do no harm forms the basis of the principle.
“Medicine is a social science… Politics is nothing but medicine on a grand scale… Physicians are the natural defenders of the poor…” Rudolph Wirchow, who is accepted as the father of pathology, stated that the profession of medicine is not limited to treating patients only.
According to the World Health Organization; “Health is not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, but a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being.”
Based on these definitions, The profession of medicine is not limited to treating the disease when it occurs, examining the patient, making examinations and writing prescriptions. The profession of medicine has a wide range of responsibilities, including pre-illness conditions and socio-economic problems, for the society as a whole, to be in complete physical, mental and social well-being. With the understanding of Preventive Medicine, it has undertaken the historical mission of ensuring that the necessary measures are taken in order to eliminate the factors that cause the emergence of the disease.
Unfortunately since 1945, to the World Health Organization With the operations carried out for the purpose, the profession of medicine is tried to be reduced to the understanding of only therapeutic medicine, its boundaries are narrowed and its effectiveness is limited.
In the light of this information; participate in these activities Not in conflict with the Hippocratic OathBecause, in the light of the realities expressed in paragraph 6 above, physicians participate in these actions not for themselves, but for the right to health of the society in which they live, and express an objection on behalf of the society. From an ethical point of view, the result does not actually change. The answer to the question of what is the main duty – curative or preventive medicine? – shows that these strikes are located in the right place in order to attract the attention of both the society and the political powers – the impending danger.
Again, when we look at it in terms of patient victimization, the first question that should come to mind is; The reason for patient grievance is ‘are these actions or the health policies that are the reason for these actions and are implemented in our country today?’ should be. It is not the actions that are on the agenda that make patients the real victim, but the ones currently being implemented in our country. market concept of health.
The rationale behind these actions; As a result of the socio-economic picture of the country, the abandonment of national public and popular health policies, and the implementation of policies imposed by the World Bank, is to prevent the public from benefiting from free, qualified and sustainable health services.. These actions are taken to draw attention to the impending danger.
This is what patients and doctors think. So what is true when we look at it from an ethically neutral point of view? We also got the opinions of the founder of DDI Academy, Thinker Dağhan Dönmez:
“Of course, this is just an interpretation. There is quite a difference between today’s world and the world of Hippocrates. It is the same in medicine. Today we are faced with the issue of specialization. Specialization, besides its many benefits, also causes the separation of the whole and the part. In the world of Hippocrates, the physician, He was the person responsible for the whole body. He was even responsible for the soul. Most philosophers were physicians anyway. Today, the bond between body and doctor weakened. The doctor may not evaluate the patient, thinking that it is not related to his field. So the patient is no longer the doctor directly, a corporate personality find it opposite. There is an instrumental relationship between them. Now the patient becomes part of the chain. Therefore, it is necessary to look at whether the patient can access the doctor through another channel, even if the doctor goes on strike. The Hippocratic Oath in a way It is still valid but not felt as much as that period. A chain structure gets in the way. Yes, when the doctor is not looking at the patient, although it is contrary to Hippocrates, today’s world has become such. In addition, by using the doctor’s right to strike, enabling future patients to receive better service that’s also the case.”
So, how are the examples of doctor strikes around the world?
including developed countries all around the world health workers can go on strike. For example;
- SpainDoctors in Turkey went on strike because they demanded that all doctors employed on temporary contracts be recruited and that the regulation on temporary contracts be changed.
- EnglandDoctors in , on the other hand, had struck for a new contract that would force them to make appointments at night and on Saturdays.
- SweetcornDoctors in Turkey, on the other hand, decided to go on strike after the government did not regulate the personal rights of doctors and health workers.
In summary; Compared to many countries, the health system in Turkey has more problems, and unfortunately, strikes both increase and take longer because these problems are not resolved or because they are resolved too late.
We have conveyed the opinions of different parties so that you can look at the subject from different perspectives. Let’s hope a little empathy We were able to get you set up.
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