RECIPROCATE GOVT'S GESTURE (MAY 9, 2009)

LAST week young doctors at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) laid down their tools to press home their demand for the payment of their fuel allowances which had not been paid for the past 18 months. The consequence of the strike was that patients who deserved medical attention were denied that essential service through no fault of theirs.
It is gratifying that the authorities of KATH, acting on the instructions of the Minister of Health, Dr George Sipa-Adjah Yankey, managed to raise funds to pay the fuel allowances of the young doctors.
Coming on the heels of the strike is the handing over of 126 saloon cars to the Ghana Health Service by the Ministry of Health for distribution to health workers. The consignment, which is the first batch of 600 cars which have been ordered by the government for health professionals this year, is intended to alleviate some of the transportation difficulties facing health professionals.
The DAILY GRAPHIC is not against doctors demanding better conditions of service; we only find it unacceptable when they lay down their tools without regard to the Hippocratic Oath which they swear on becoming doctors.
It is instructive to state that under the oath, doctors swear among other things to solemnly, freely and upon their honour to maintain the utmost respect for human life and not to use their medical knowledge to violate human rights and civil liberties, even under threat.
While the DAILY GRAPHIC concedes that doctors deserve their due, we are worried that oftentimes they renege on the promises they make under the Hippocratic Oath.
We know that despite these challenges, society will continue to accord health workers the pride of place because of the essential services they offer the people.
The provision of cars and the promise by the Ministry of Health to embark on affordable housing schemes for health professionals are all part of efforts by the government to make them comfortable and motivated to protect us against disease attack and untimely death.
The DAILY GRAPHIC is fully aware that human needs are insatiable and individuals and groups will continue to fight for more so that they can fend for themselves and their families better.
In addition to good health, it is incumbent on the state to provide good accommodation and food for the people in order to develop a healthy labour force to champion the cause of national development.
Presently, the ends are competing for the scarce resources and the government has to find a way to share the national cake such that nobody will be disadvantaged.
Other working people, such as teachers, civil servants and farmers, all require better conditions of service in order to survive the grim economic conditions of our times.
Although we concede that health is important, health workers should not make themselves a special class of people who must be treated differently. They must reciprocate the gesture of the public who made the training of health professionals possible through the payment of taxes.
The provision of the vehicles and the promise to provide affordable housing may not be all that the doctors need, but they are good signs that society is prepared to give them more incentives. It is left to them to reciprocate these sacrifices with uninterrupted services.